Solace Originate

Chapter 2

Chapter 2
Life in Asanagi

*BEEP!* *BEEP!* *BEEP!* *BEEP!* As usual, the alarm goes off at 7AM sharp, waking up Keyori in only a couple seconds. Keyori let out a big yawn as he stretched his arms outward. Over the next half hour, Keyori did the process of eating breakfast, brushing his teeth, and getting dressed for school.

When he arrived at school shortly after, he saw Espy and Flare seemingly waiting for him as they both were facing the grounds entrance from near the fountain.

"Morning. You're on time as usual," Flare said to him as he got closer to them. He heard Flare and looked towards the two girls partway through her sentence. "Seriously, how are you able to get here on time just by walking? Better yet, where exactly do you live?"

"Judging from my walk, about 15 minutes from here," Keyori replied, smiling cheerfully. "It's down the street next to the Korono Market I work at."

"Wow, that close?" Flare said, also smiling. "I completely forgot about that street."

As the three were talking to each other for a few seconds in the slight distance, a close-up of the back of a person's baby blue hoodie and yellow Jolteon tail were seen on-screen. The Jolteon seemed to recognize Keyori from her distance, and slowly approached him and the girls as the camera panned all around her wardrobe - her light pink skirt, then her red shoes and striped pantyhose, then to her yellow Jolteon ears and spiky yellow hair.

"I-Is that you, Keyori?" the person said in a female voice, one that was familiar to Keyori. He and the girls' attentions were directed at the Jolteon girl. "I didn't know you came here too."

Keyori looked at the girl for a couple seconds until finally giving off a surprised expression - one where his eyes were giant white circles. "Wait, Maya? You're a student here?"

"Well yeah, of course she is," Espy said to him. "You know her from somewhere?"

"Yeah, we met at Korono Market during my shift a couple days ago," Keyori said, grinning cheerfully as he scratched the back of his head. "Guess that explains your curfew of getting home by dinnertime."

"Yep," Maya said, nodding her head with a smile. All of a sudden, the other students started to head inside the school. "Should we head in too?"

Espy and Flare nodded. Keyori simply shrugged as the four head into the school building. Past the lockers next to the auditorium's entrance, a young boy with a semi-masculine frame was waiting for them up against the wall.

"Hey kid." The boy called out to Keyori, attracting the attention of him and the girls.

"Oh. Hi Nozote." Maya happily waved to him.

"Oh, it's you," Espy said in an annoyed tone. Her eyes were small dots, the tops of which were covered by her rectangular eyebrows. Maya stopped waving, and looked curiously at Espy.

"Yeah, it's me," Nozote replied, smirking as he pointed his left thumb at his own head. He then closed his eyes. "Sorry about what happened yesterday, by the way."

"Hey, don't sweat it," Keyori said, smiling. "I already punished you enough yesterday, so let's just leave it at that."

"Gotta hand it to ya though," Nozote said, still smirking. "You're pretty good. Most people like you who try to challenge me can't even lay a finger on me. And here you come, schooling me without any effort whatsoever."

"I wouldn't brag about that if I were you," Flare remarked, her eyes and eyebrows the same as Espy's were earlier.

"Yeah yeah," Nozote said, looking over annoyedly at Flare before redirecting his attention back to Keyori. "By the way, I never got your name yesterday. You probably already heard my name. But if you need a reminder, Nozote Tsubake is my name."