Gate Guardian - Tale of the Blazing Heart

Prologue II

Prologue II

[Heightsburg Campus - Heightsburg City]

[5:00 PM]

The bell rang from the tenth floor of the campus. It was already afternoon, the time for dismissal of classes. I stayed in my seat, daydreaming, and also waiting for something to happen.

I've been secretly staring at her face for more than five minutes. Those tender lips and delicate face are the best view in the campus. Her green eyes sparkle more than the stars. There's no doubt that she's an ex-model in this school with her tall, mature figure.

Erylle Fontaine. That is her name. Friendly, wise, and beautiful. She has it all.

Suddenly, she glanced back at me. To my surprise, I shook my head and pretended to be watching the school grounds from the windows. I have a feeling she's walking towards me. My heart raced faster and faster.

"Yohan..."

She had her hand on my desk. I simply glanced slowly at her, sweating, and shaking. I can't even look at her eyes right now. Oh, what should I do!?

"Are you busy this afternoon? I want to talk to you about something..."

S-She wants me to talk about something!? I don't know what that is...Maybe a confession! No, you're too delusional, Yohan. Nobody would be attracted to a loser like me. But I don't remember any topics for us. What should I do? There's nothing to do this afternoon for me. I'm completely free.

Now I have four ways to answer her. If this is a type of test or dating sim, my options are these:

a. Accept Erylle's invitation.

b. Be a dope like always and pretend that there's something you have to do.

c. Stare at Erylle and confess while mumbling your words.

d. Sneakily hug Erylle tightly.

I swallowed my saliva and inhaled lightly, trying to calm myself but it's no good. I can feel that my armpits are already sweaty, and my brain got all the answers above jumbled inside my head. Wha-...Why is there a fourth choice anyway!?

"I-I'm s-sorry, I have things to take care of at my dormitory..."

"Oh, Okay...Next time then~" She waved goodbye at me and left.

Idiot! I am an idiot!!! I'm a coward when it comes to talking to girls, especially to her. If you were to describe me as an animal, it would be a chicken!

I think that was my only chance to speak with her privately, but I can't confess to her that easily. I don't know if I have the guts to confess about my feelings to her. She rejected all confessions from most of the guys I know. Even heartthrobs didn't have a chance. I'll get the same fate too, if I'm going to confess. She's completely out of my league.

Why am I thinking about confessing at her anyway? She said she wants me to talk about something, and it's obvious that romance is not on the topic lists.

My inner self evaluation was interrupted by a calm voice.

"Yohan."

It was Asumi, my groupmate in my Research subject. She was also a cute girl with a childlike face with golden eyes and a petite figure. Besides that, she has a very straight long hair that can reach the floor, so she got it all braided and tied with loops.

"You're in charge of the tallying of the survey, and we need that tomorrow."

She gave me a folder full of paperwork and smiled. What's wrong with this woman? Oh yeah, she's using me again. We're supposed to tally the 800-people sample survey together.

"Oh!"

Poof! She immediately slipped and got her head smash the papers I'm holding. The research papers flew like confetti after a basketball game's championship match.

"L-Look at what you've done!" I shrieked.

"I-I'm sorry!"

It took us a quarter of an hour to collect the papers and arrange it in proper order again. Then I opened the folder and divided the papers.

"This is yours to work for." I said coldly.

Asumi shifted to a sarcastic smile and replied. "Okay, I'm sorry... I'll do my part for you."

We leaved the classroom tables and started walking home. It's always like this; I escort Asumi from school to the Japanese Shrine about half a kilometer from here. She lives there as a Shrine Priestess. About a quarter of kilometer is my dormitory.

I always escort her as a friend, since one time I saw her lying on the ground, bumped by a kiddie bicycle. Then the next day, I saw her again accidentally tripping on a stone. One time, she got bumped by a parked car. I have some sympathy on her so I make sure to watch her. Dammit. Babysitting a woman sharing the same age as I is sure awkward and troublesome. But I purely do this out of goodwill.

She told me that she was prohibited to make contact to the outside world until she got her sixteenth birthday, because she must do it to become a Shrine Priestess. That explains why she's an idiot.

We are good friends, Asumi and I. I can't say that we're that close because it's just two years since I first met her. She's too clumsy that everyone stays away from her. You won't see her with other girls. That's why I'm her only friend.

But I can't talk to her like a real friend. I always mumble all my words. My nervousness comes first. I'm not really good in talking to girls. So to remove the awkwardness, most of the time, she's the one opening a conversation at me.

"Miss Fontaine approached you earlier, right? What did you talk about, huh?" Asumi grinned.

"I-It's nothing!" I bowed. "She said that s-she's going to talk to me about something, b-but I refused."

"Should I help you?"

"H-Help me?"

"Should I help you confess your feelings to her?!~"

"N-No! I'm not ready to be rejected yet!" I cried out loud.

"Why are you thinking of being rejected? You're kind and cute, she might like you!... And also, it's already obvious that you got your eyes on her! You work hard when she's around, stare at her when she's not looking, and give her mysterious love letters... It wouldn't hurt if I try to advertise you, right?"

"No, don't! Just...Please don't! And I'm not the one sending some mysterious love letters!"

She continued teasing me for more than five minutes. Good thing we're now outside of the shrine. She waved goodbye to me with a cute smile.

I continued walking on the street, alone. There's barely anybody on the streets at this hour. There are only one or two cars that passed by, and then complete silence. This street is not that known to people, and sure is creepy at night time. Good thing, it's still afternoon.

The words of Asumi echoed in my head. She said that it was obvious that I like Erylle. Maybe I should confess...Wait, that's wrong. I'm not ready to fall in love yet. I'm a complete loser, having no talents at all. It would be a miracle if any girl took a liking to me. I can't even talk straight to Asumi, how can I even start a conversation with Erylle?

Suddenly...

There was a huge ring of light, floating, that looked like a mirror in the pathway. Some of the people are passing by, but they seem that they can't see it. That triggered my curiosity so I approached.

Just before I'm able to touch the glowing light, the ring started to swallow up my hand and it started to pull me over, slowly. I tried to shout, but my throat is dry enough to keep me silent.

"....!!!"

Is this some kind of portal?!

It became bigger and bigger until my whole body is now pulled inside the ring, converted into nothingness. There was a blinding flash, brighter than the sun. It's all white. I can't see anything. A deafening buzzy noise echoed inside my head.