Contract? (Awakening)

It has been a most unusual day with the murder of the Principal. It would only be a matter of time until the news of his death would soon spread throughout the whole school. And soon, the whole city. With the known disappearances of students and with the death of the venerable patriarch of the Academy, it was clear that turbulent times would fall upon the city.

Though for a few number of students and Jin, it was most forbidding that a girl in pink had some strange powers that allowed her to elude the police. Was she the murderer? If so, how did she kill the old man with such sharp blades when there were no visible wounds on him? Something about all of this intrigued Jin.

He would have to find this Cain boy. Have him explain what exactly is happening to this city to alleviate this curiosity that is morbidly rising inside him. Yes... he would most certainly would love to get involved with this bizarre case.

But he had no leads like the police. Perhaps, it was just only an one time experience with something so unworldly. And that really disappointed him. With a hint of frustration in his gait, Jin hurriedly walked through the hallways to leave the campus. But before he could get home, a visit to the grocery store was most imperative.

"What a day."

"Excuse me, Sensei." A student wearing the Kizuna Academy uniform would have seemingly appeared behind the man in the hallway. Their appearance was that of an average student, most likely a first year. Their eyes were a keen red, which could have meant contacts, and the rest of their body didn't really stand out at all. This particular student was a brown haired male with average height, and could be mistaken as any other student to walk the halls of Kizuna Academy. Though the school at the current moment was deathly silent thanks to the recent rumors about the Principal, and apparently a flying woman that was spotted from a window. "My name is Youto. I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time. With all this recent confusion, I've misplaced my bag and could use some help finding it. It's very important, and two sets of eyes are better than one. Atleast that's what I've heard." The red eyed teen gave a smile to the teacher before stroking his chin in thought. "Last I saw it was the rooftop. Could you come help me find it?" He was very polite, though he seemed to have too easy of a grin considering the circumstances with a principal murdered and a killer on the loose.

Someone called for him and caused him to jolt in his frozen steps. How? How was someone able to sneak up on him without alerting his senses? With a masked calm demeanor, he turned to see a boy. A young student. It was rather surprising to see one at this time soon after the events of the murder. This boy who calls himself "Youto" didn't seem unique from his fellow peers if it weren't for those crimson pupils. Contacts, possibly.

With the news of the murder, maybe this boy was just here to spy a glance at the crime scene? But there was something strange about this as he was the only one besides Jin in this hallway. The silence was starting to get eerie as it prickled the back of his neck.

"Sure," he complied nonchalantly with a word, "Lead the way. I'm still new to this school."

Groceries would have to wait. There was something about this kid that he can't exactly put a finger on. And suppose he was involved with this case. Why would he want Jin? The latter would soon find out.

"Still new huh, Sensei? Don't worry, I'll show you the ropes." The student gave a carefree smile before turning and heading towards the staircase to head towards the rooftop. With his hands on his hips, he walked with his back turned towards the teacher. "So Sensei, I heard about what happened to the Principal. What do you think about that? I mean, he was never here anyway, so why would someone want him dead, I wonder." The boy turned a corner and began to walk up the staircase, heading straight for the rooftop. His hand moved upon the railing as he continued upward. "I wonder if whoever did it, did it for revenge. If you had the power to kill someone without anyone being able to pinpoint the murder back to you, would you do it aswell?" The student still did not turn around to look at the sensei as he continued upward towards the rooftop, now making it to the second floor and heading for the third.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Jin spoke back as he trailed behind Youto, "I'm not well acquainted with the Principal enough."

This boy seemed so flippant. It was as if he had no cares in this world. It was this detachment from the event that probably made it easy for him to talk about something this serious. The silence was unnerving. It was too quiet for his tastes. There seemed to be a lack of life through the path they were taking. Cautiously, he scoured his pupils around his environment for any form of foul play.

But nothing seemed to come up. They were all alone. As they traversed through the lonesome hall, Jin observed the boy again. He was rather average with the dark school uniform. Nothing seemed out of place. And no hands were hidden to draw out some hidden weapon to make a new murder.

The empty case of stairs possessed a rhythm of steps as they now started to walk up to the next floor. He followed up the steps behind the student he doesn't even remember seeing before. It was a closed space. No one seemed to be creeping up behind him nor was there someone hiding from above as they continued up the stairs. The monotony of their travel would quiver with a question the youth asked. It caused Jin to blink in surprise and stop in his tracks for a few sluggish seconds.. It was barely innocent as the subject of the murder caused him to grimace soon after. Was this some kind of test? What is this for?

He allowed the same silence to answer for him as the Chinese advanced to keep following the boy. As they were starting to head to the third floor, the man finally replied.

"I don't have a reason to do that."

It was an innocent answer. He rarely hated anybody. Jin Zong Wu was a man who lacked emotions. He had led a life of nothingness. A doll to be more specific. But something inside him caused him to speak further.

"...Yet," Jin suddenly admitted, "I'm just merely floating without a purpose."

Did he pass the test?

"I doubt you would bother me for just a backpack. The Lost and Found box is a few floors below. So what do you really want with me?"

The boy continued to walk and gave a few laughs beneath his breath at the teacher's answer. He made it sound like he had little purpose, it was amusing to the child. "Floating without a purpose? That doesn't sound so fulfilling, Sensei. Everyone needs abit of purpose in their life. After all, what's the point of living without having something to strive towards? It seems rather redundant to fall into a mediocre life when you have nothing to live for in the beginning. Maybe the Principal was the same way. Maybe it wasn't a murder, but instead was a suicide." Youto spoke very detached to the fact this principal was an important figure in the school. He turned the corner and began to head up to the third floor before hearing the teacher's last comment. The boy's back still remained faced towards his sensei, keeping his current facial expression hidden.

"It'd be such a pain to go there now that we're almost to the rooftop, Sensei. Please endure my presence for alittle longer. I apologize for being such a burden.. Haha. I just want your help to find my bag, that's all. And also to ask you a few questions.. For Example: Why continue to live if you say you have no purpose?" The crimson eyed boy finally stopped his ascension up the stairs and placed his hand on the railing, awaiting an answer.

Jin had to stretch out a smile at what the child replied. He had to agree. If he had no purpose, what reason did he keep on living? That was the very paradox of his existence. The man had only became a history teacher just for that one "person". But now that she was gone, he had no other goal or purpose to pursue. It was just an unending cycle of pseudo-existence. This very mediocrity had unarmed a previously monster of a martial artist into a mere man who only knew of the world's known past.

"Well. That would be a very unique suicide if that were true," the teacher agreed as he remembered the kill site at the back of his head.

But that was only a conjecture. Who knows what kind of life this man once led in his youth? And what he really used to be in his life? That would be uncertain to all mankind except by the eyes of God. The boy stopped in his tracks. There was something really strange about this...

Youto had denied he had other ulterior motives except wanting to use Jin to help find a mere schoolbag. Fine, so be it. Keep playing along.

But the next question offered to him was more personal this time.

"I suppose I'm just waiting for something to happen," he answered stoically as he observed the boy's back with strict scrutiny and morbid curiosity.

Was something going to happen?

"I don't fit in well with anything else. But I believe something might pop up along the way. After all, I made a promise to try to keep living."

Yes. To her...

"What else do you want to know?"

Youto did not move as he listened to the man. He was almost like a statue, yet still had a breath of life. Several seconds after the Sensei finished speaking, the crimson eyed boy began to laugh beneath his breath. Turning around completely, he would look towards the man with a wide smile. "How humorous you humans are. I was sure someone such as you would be in utter despair, but here you are still clinging to life. You no longer have a purpose, yet you continue to live. What a contradiction. We'll see what you make of this world with your eyes truly opened, "Jin Zong Wu". Or excuse me.. Sensei. Haha.." As the boy spoke, Jin's head would begin to ache. First it would go numb, and then a sharp sting would hit the back of his head. The sensation in itself would most likely make the man dizzy. In all this confusion, the crimson eyed boy stepped towards the man and pressed his hand against his chest. In that brief moment of contact, the pain in his head would intensify and everything would go black. Whatever happened it was abnormal; almost like a dream. Almost like it never occurred to begin with.

When the man would finally awake, he'd find himself in his classroom, at his desk. Time had obviously went forward, as the sun was down and the moon was full of splendor. The aching in his head remained, and nothing seemed to different. However, the exit to his classroom was replaced by a crimson red door. It glowed with an ominous light almost beckoning him to try and use it.

Jin knit his brows together into a furrow when he could hear the faint noise of laughter. What was funny? He could not tell. Was it because his life was being a complete farce? That he just simply bungled along the Earth waiting for something to happen? He couldn't tell. But what really chilled his spine was that smile accompanied by the male student's next words. Then the stinging sensation in his head. But frighteningly, it suddenly went numb. The thoughts that ran through his mind were jumbled as the feeling turned into pain.

"Aurgh!"

He violently recoiled from the signal emitting from his nerves, but the speed at how they were transmitted caused him to feel nauseous. His knees stumbled as his weight plummeted to the floor. Jin struggled to keep himself upright with his right hand clawing against the wall. But he slipped down with his back against the stucco.

"...What?!" he could only struggle out that one word in disbelief.

It happened all too soon. What just happened?! Is this the end? Was he the new victim to initiate this boy's new murder spree? His consciousness wavered as it became all dark. But before he could resign to the nothingness, Jin saw the boy coming towards him with an outstretched hand that laid upon his very heart.

The pain gave a finale of an explosion which caused him to pass out. This was the end...

...Or so it was thought as Jin prompted his eyes open. The classroom. It was dark with the lack of insufficient artificial lighting. No one was around, but he. When? When was his body moved? Or rather... was he here the whole time?

He grimaced at the ache in his head.

"What was that?"

A soft red light silently answered his question. The teacher geared his head towards its source to see a scarlet door standing there. Obviously that wasn't there before. But... it verified it wasn't just a dream.

The chair screeched as he pushed it back to stand. That light implored him to open the knob. It commanded him. Under its hypnotic spell, Jin walked over there and twisted the mechanism to see what lay ahead.

As he touched the door, the crimson light would shine brightly before forcing him backward. The mysterious door would open and an orb of red tar would escape its darkest bowels. This orb of red began to take form before him, as the red door vanished in a fit of red pearls. This mysterious creature who had emerged from the red door took the form of a being draped in darkness with a white skull for a face. It immediately grasped the teacher by the neck and raised him up off his feet. "A human? I haven't seen one in quite some time. To summon me here, you must crave the solace of death." The inhuman being would begin to strangle the teacher before suddenly stopping. Sitting on a desk, almost appearing out of thin air, was that of the brown haired Youto. His smile was still intact as he looked at the two. "Put him down, Hashashin. You wouldn't want to hurt your host, now would you?"

Almost as if compelled, the Shadow released the teacher. Youto hopped off his desk and walked over to the man with a slight crimson twinkle in his eyes. "Sensei, it's a shame you don't have a purpose. Would you like me to put you out of your misery here and now? I assure you, it'll be a swift execution. Just say the word/" Youto was obviously referring to what the teacher told him before about having no purpose. Was he truly offering to kill him for that sole reason?

It was all too bizarre for Jin. He felt an unknown force pushing him back as if beckoning him to watch the spectacle. A sphere of scarlet appeared through the portal. As it was born into the material world, the door disappeared into minuscule red particles. Almost as if by cue, the orb started to organically take shape like viscous fluid taking form. From the red crimson, it turned into a jet dark black of a cloaked figure with only a white skull mask.

"What--"

Before he could finish his question, something clasped around his vulnerable neck before the ex-soldier could even react. From the increased pressure that increased in its bony dark-skinned grasp, Jin gagged as he was held into the air with his feet dangling. He couldn't speak or shout out for help. But not only that, a chill coalesced in his stomach upon hearing the unworldly voice of this skull-faced creature.

It was a multitude of voices of a grown man and woman combined with the tones of a combination of a younger boy and girl that spoke from its hidden lips. But the combination of its speech had a heavy distortion to it that gave it a much scarier feeling to a listener. He was almost about to pass out until hearing a familiar voice commanding this thing, known as Hashashin, to let him go.

Jin collapsed onto the floor with both hands onto his neck as he coughed and gagged from the sudden release of pressure. It's true he now has an option to die as this boy offered with this strange creature. There it was. But... what was this feeling of morbid curiosity and excitement? It started to bloom as he laid his pupils upon both boy and cloaked man.

"Normally I'd agree," the Chinese finally gasped out, "But... What is that?"

He pointed a finger at Hashashin who stood behind the boy. Jin wanted to know more about this.

Youto looked over his shoulder. Then he looked around the room. Then he looked back at the man and pointed to his own face. "I'm Youto. Don't call me a "that", that's rude you know." He pretended like he could not see the otherworldly being floating behind him. Squatting down so he was on the same level as the teacher, Youto titled his head. "So why this sudden urge to live, Sensei? Is there something worth living for that you're not telling me? You're such a walking contradiction, you know that?" The boy stood up and shrugged his shoulders. "If what you want is purpose, I can give you purpose. I can give you power. However, there is only one thing I need from you. Do you want to know what that one thing is, sensei?" Youto scratched the back of his head as he looked towards the abnormal being with a raised brow. The Shadow looked back at its master, but still did not say a word. It was utterly devoted to whatever this boy was.

It seems like he didn't want to answer Jin's question as Youto innocently pretended the ethereal figure never existed. As the child knelt down near his face, he stated his curiosity of why this teacher wanted to live now and not die as he had no purpose. It's understandable. Humans need a reason to live. That's why so much conflict in their lives have been made. Yet, Jin had none of that...

Despite having previously being choked to near-death, a chuckle escaped his lips. It was true. He is was riddled with such strong contradictions ever since his birth. To have lived up to this day is most curious. Soon he the soft laughter turned into guffaw. Perhaps it was gratitude. Or his own brain was somewhat rattled from the absurdity of his day. Regardless, this student was going to change this mediocrity into something much more.

"My complete utter fealty to you?" Jin returned with a bizarre smile that was completely out of place of his earlier blank demeanor, "I don't mind. Though, I am skeptical if that's all what you want. Youto-- No. You're not really him, are you?"

The memories shook back into the library where Cain had brought up the topic of the God of the Crawling Chaos. A malignant entity of Cthulu Mythos. A being Jin had not even considered was possible to ever exist in the World of Man. But yet with this skull man behind him and the strange diction the boy had used when addressing humans, he was convinced the universe was truly beyond the mortal ken of humans.

"Are you Nyarlathotep? I suppose this is one of your One Thousand Forms?"

Strength:

OOC: Cain had brought up Nyarlathotep and also the Minotaur in our thread. Though Jin never believed him.

"Nyarlathotep? You humans have quite the imagination, hmm?" The boy chuckled, as if denying the man's claims of what he thought he knew. "I am Youto. And utter fealty to me? Don't sound so cliche, Old Man. I simply need you to find a purpose. I'm not such a bad guy, am I? Surely all humans have dreams. Hehe, I'm just helping you find your own." The "Student" stretched his limbs in a nonchalant manner. He was starting to get bored with the man's roundabout way of answering his question. On why he still was live when he had no purpose. Maybe he was better off just dying. After all, Ueitawa would be following close behind him at this rate. "I'd thought you'd be a bit more out there after people dying around you and being put under suspicion. Get up on your feet and show alittle backbone. If you don't want to die, then tell me why you're still living. What's your purpose? I do find it interesting you laugh in the face of death, but even those with no purpose have their limits. When you fight for something, that's when humans truly become interesting. Fighting against their fate of inevitable demise! Walking contradictions! Haha! It's rich!"

Jin felt himself feel faltered as the boy denied the claim. But he never showed it as his expression suddenly turned blank as it wasn't fealty that this individual wanted. No, it felt like he wanted to see what this teacher was going to do from here on out. Perhaps he was some observer that wanted to see the chaos that would soon eclipse the city.

Jin remarked with another chuckle as he tried to get up back onto his feet, "Surely you must have a lot of time if you're dealing with an old man like me. Don't you have homework to do?"

A little bit of humor still existed in that utterly soulless body. Yet, it was a result of this unknown glee inside of him. It felt... great for some odd reason. When he should be freaking out at the current development so far. Was there something wrong with him?

"I suppose it was a promise from my boyhood days," he finally admitted with down-trodden eyes, "But in the end, I guess it is causing me a little grief now that I have nothing else worth living for."

He paused for a moment and then looked back at the child and the spectral creature behind. This was his chance. The one and only chance where he could truly grasp at something for once. From his downcast expression, a much more resolute face stared back at the two with a ghost of a smile.

"I'll find that purpose. I'll put on a show where you can put your whole delight into... Youto," Jin declared.

Let this Faustian Contract be made.