When I came to, everything was pitch black.
I couldn't see a thing except for my own body.
I felt the urge to get out. Whether to see the warm light of day or the stars that wonderfully dressed the night sky, it didn't matter.
I needed to get out of this black pit.

So I started walking, walking forward. Just walking alone, inside the abyss.
"Where am I? How did I get here?" Of course, those would certainly be just as important questions right now.
But my primary objective was to find an exit.
After hours of walking-
-Or at least it seemed like hours, I saw a faint light at the horizon.

I started running towards it, though it was futile.
No matter how fast I ran, the distance looked so much further ahead.
I fell down and stopped to catch my breath.

"It's no good...no matter how fast I run, I can't get to the exit." The anxiety filled my mind.
It would be easy to give up I thought. Besides, what's the point?.
Then I remembered the reason that made me dream about being a swordsman.
It was Pandora. She was never the person to give up, and that made me look up to her.
{No it's not right, I can't give up now! If I ever want to see her again, I need to get out of here.}

"Very well." Suddenly, I heard someone.
A voice that somehow felt familiar.
"Who is this?" There was a boy standing in front of me, who was somewhat distinguishable.
I could see him clearly as the dim, faint light was covering the outline of his body.
He had medium-long black hair, blood-red eyes, and was wearing a purple tuxedo and trousers of the same color.
He really looked like someone rich. 

Although I couldn't remember who he was, I was sure I knew him from somewhere.
He put his hand towards me to help me stand.
"Haha...Seriously that's just like you, Ran." As I stood up, I looked towards him again.
His presence alone made me blink and gave me a nostalgic feeling.

"What the hell? Where did he go?"
It seemed weird.
The boy that for some unexplainable reason seemed to know me, was gone by the time I opened my eyes again.
In his place a door appeared. 
It was a white door. It seemed like a gate for a church or an old mansion.I could see it.
The faint light I saw earlier.It was coming from inside that door.

Pushing the door I entered a huge room.
It looked like a church cathedral and there, the strange boy who somehow seemed familiar was sitting on a table at the center of the cathedral.
"Welcome back"  He said.
I felt my chest tightening, as I gave a quick look around.

The stained glass behind him was showing the lifeline of a black-haired boy.
As I was looking, I concluded that it showed his life along with his family.
They seemed so happy. Immediately after, I focused my thoughts on him.

"What do you mean? Have I been here before?" He laughed.
"But of course!! Listen here, Ran Sugiyama!! Because I'll say it only once. You say you don't remember this place? that's rather rude coming from you! But you've been here before alright, engrave it on your mind so you better remember next time you drop by. Rather than been here before, it's more like you're the only one who should be allowed here, except for me that is"
With a quick step, he jumped close to my face.
"After all, this is your ------" Suddenly a bright light blinded me.

For some reason, it prevented me from hearing the end of his sentence.
"Wait!! Who are you ?? What is this place?" 
Who was he? Where was I? Why did it felt so familiar in there?
I knew I needed answers, so I started running towards his voice.

He seemed to laugh, even if I could not see him clearly.
"But oh no~ look at this... it's time for you to wake up now. That's such a shame..but oh well, we can't have everything. So wake up please...Wake up! wake up!"
"WAIT PLEASE!! I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS!!"

"WAKE UP!!! YOU FILTHY DIMWIT!!!" As I was dreaming a voice woke me up.
The person who did it pulled the sheet I was covered with and threw me off my bed.
"UGH...what is it? What's going on so early in the morning?"
"What is this commoner talking about? Maybe you didn't shake him hard enough, Hideyoshi"
It seems I had overslept. It was already past morning outside, and the sun's rays were showering the train.

I wasn't feeling well having just woken up, and the person who woke me up was looking at me in disgust.
He was a brown-skinned boy who seemed around my age. His hair was combed in braids and he wore a white suit along with a purple tie and a pair of glasses.

Looking at him, one could immediately assume that he was raised in a rich family.
{Wow~ what are the odds of meeting two lords in one day? What seems weird is the fact that I don't even find it strange.}
Behind the boy, were two people who looked slightly older than me, standing next to each other.

The one was a blond guy with a slicked-back medium-long hair, holding a wooden cane and a suitcase, and the other was a girl with violet pigtails, and a small top hat on her head, holding a purple umbrella.
Both of them looked like servants, wearing a butler and a maid uniform, so I assumed they were the loud guy's servants.

"I am very sorry Master Tada. But it's fine, is it not? He's awake after all"
"Hmph! we'll talk later about this. YOU THERE! What is a filthy mongrel doing here!?"
"Gosh, you're loud. I was just sleeping. What's the big idea? WHO EVEN ARE YOU??"
I covered my ears. As the rich guy was ready to start swearing from his anger the butler stepped in front of him and smiled.

"Hideyoshi what are you doing!!?? Let me give this commoner a piece of my mind!!"
"Calm down now, master Tada. I'm sure this was just a big misunderstanding. After all, we don't want to disturb the other passengers now, do we?" The rich guy took a deep breath and calmed down as the butler looked at me.
"Excuse my master for what happened, sir. He tends to be like that but he's not a bad person"
{Yeah right...who knows what would have happened if you didn't stop him there...}I sighed in relief while the butler continued.

"By the way, sir...the way you're dressed is rather...unusual.Are you from far away possibly?"
{Well it's BEEN a whole night after all...}
"I suppose that's right, I'm from Scalas Islands...Mister Hideyoshi may I guess" The butler seemed surprised after he heard me.
"Oh, that's right, I forgot to introduce myself now, didn't I? I'm sorry, I just can't seem to do things right today, you may excuse my rudeness. My name is Hideyoshi Sakurabe and this is my sister, Chiaki" He bowed and pointed towards the maid.

"So may I ask for your name, sir? If it's not much trouble, that is" I nodded and took a deep breath.
"My name is Ran Sugiyama. Nice to meet you. And you are?"I pulled my arm towards the rich guy for a handshake, but he didn't respond.
As I was waiting in awkwardness the butler went and grabbed his master's shoulders.
"Come on master! You say your name too~ it's not so hard.
" The rich guy pushed his hands aside and yelled."Shut your trap Hideyoshi!!! There is nothing i need to say to commoner!!"
{Great...} He seemed more pissed than before."OK if that's how you will be, then you don't mind me singing do you?~ "
Suddenly the rich guy's face became blue, and he started sweating.

"WAIT!! HIDEYOSHI STOP THAT! IT'S JUST ONE OF YOUR JOKES RIGHT??"
"Why? is his voice something special?" I was wondering when Hideyoshi started singing.
"LALALALALALALALALA" My mind emptied and my ears started bleeding.
"W-What...The hell is this???!!!""HIDEYOSHI STOP!! OKAY I'LL TALK! I'LL INTRODUCE MYSELF!!!" The young master sighed in relief as Hideyoshi stopped singing.
"That's great! I knew you could do it master!~" The rich guy took another deep breath.

"OK, listen here, Rant, because I'll only say it once! My name is Tada Matsuri! The honorable heir of the Matsuri household, a noble family stated in <<Begonia City>> that you wouldn't dare make enemies of." I heard him although I wasn't thinking clearly.
"This...This was hell, wasn't it?...hehehehe."
"HIDEYOSHI!! Look what you've done!! He can't hear us anymore!" I was lost in thought, as I was staring at my hand.
"AAAAH! HIS EYES ROLLED BACK! STAY WITH US SIR RAN DON'T GO YET!!"

After I woke up from my 'eternal slumber' I decided to sit down and think things through.
"I don't understand. I was supposed to be alone in this room, what the hell happened?" Hideyoshi came closer and talked in a low voice.
"I'm sorry sir Ran, but that may be your fault"
"How so?" I was confused.
This was supposed to be 'MY' room not a rich guy's from Begonia.
"You see...This is supposed to be the VIP section of the train..."
"...WHAT???!! "I was shocked. 
How could I be so stupid that mistook my room with a VIP one??

I apologized and got ready to leave but Hideyoshi stopped me.
"Umm...you see...I would let you go but there's a problem...Master Tada didn't want to put our luggage in the train's warehouse rail car along with the others so he requested a separate room for them. He's very cautious with things like these sadly."
{Cautious my ass...he's just very spoiled...}
"That's why I request you to stay here with us until we arrive at our destination."
I sighed and pushed my body backwards shoving it onto the couch.

"By the way, sir Ran...Pardon me for asking, but what is that thing, which is hanging from your pocket?"
It was then that I remembered about the present Pandora gave me.
A green piece of cloth covering something.
"That's right, what could it be?" I shoved my hand in my pocket and grabbed the present.
"Let's see..." I unfolded the cloth.
To my surprise, it was a green bandanna, with two yellow circles towards the middle.
They looked like two yellow eyes which I found funny.
And inside, there was a piece of paper, which made me curious as I started reading it.

["Dear Ran, it's me Pandora! Do you like my present? I'm sure it suits you! I hope you liked my service cause I won't see you for a while. And also...I have some bad news, but please don't be mad."]
{Mad? why would I be?} I wondered as I continued reading.
["If you reading this that means you're on your way to <<Tsurugi Academy>>"] 
I jumped off my seat.
"WHAAAAAAAATTT!!!!!????? THAT PANCAKE!!" I was beyond surprised. 
That made my breath stop for a moment.

I thought of leaving the moment I get to Minami City, but if I did, I would throw my future away just like that. And that's something I definitely wouldn't do.
Tada's gang was surprised by my behavior but I didn't talk to them.
"What was that about a pancake? did something happen?"
"I don't know, but LIKE HELL I would share my room with a pancake hater"
"DEATH-"
They were whispering to each other while looking at me suspiciously.
And just as they were starting to get on my nerves, I stopped listening to them and decided to read the rest of the letter.

["I swapped the applications. I know you're mad at me for not telling you but I just couldn't bear it anymore! I could see it in your face! You wanted to go more than anything else. Don't worry over small matters you know you'll fit there! As for me, I was good at school as you know, so I think I'll manage here, and DON'T CALL ME PANCAKE!! my middle name is Cake, but I can't help it!! My father named me like that! Well, I hope I'll see you again some time. You can be the best there, you know it! And I'll be cheering for you from here because for as long as we know each other when you say you can't, I know YOU CAN!!"]

{YOU IDIOT PANCAKE!!...why?...why did you have to do that? Why did you have to throw away your future for the sake of mine?? DAMN IT!! You know I can't refuse an offer like that!!..} With teary eyes, I folded the paper and put it in my pocket.
{DAMN IT!! Ok then! I'll manage you'll see! I won't let your effort go to waste! I will enroll in that academy and become the best!! When I meet you again, I will be Ran! The one the world will know as the strongest swordsman!! I can't keep being a crybaby. For Pandora's sake I'll be strong.}
I wiped off my tears and wrapped the bandanna around my head.
"Sir Ran, mind explaining what happened?-"
<BOOOM!!!>

Hideyoshi was about to question my previous behavior, when the sound of a large noise was heard, which made us cover our ears.
We found it strange, after all, you don't hear a noise, loud enough to pass inside all the rail cars every day.
Then we pinned our eyes to the window.
There was a large fire in one of the rail cars, and the smoke in the air was squishing our lungs.

"*Cough cough cough* Hideyoshi, Chiaki! Quickly find the cause of this! I'll go towards the others."
With one order, the servants opened the door and stepped out of the room, as I quickly opened the window while watching them.
"You should stay here master Tada" The maid with the name Chiaki Sakurabe advised her master.
But the look on her eyes was different than the one a servant would have.
She seemed to have more of a lover's or a family member's feeling of worry.

"Don't worry dear sister. I'm sure just as always, our master knows how to handle this. He was trained especially on how to act in a situation like this after all."
"But I'm going alone, Rant can die for all I care"Tada ran to the left side of the train, towards the warehouse rail car.
"Wait were are you guys going?" I was clueless.
{Aren't we supposed to stay inside the room and let the workers handle the fire in a situation like this?}
"Sir Ran, we're going towards the front of the train, to find out what's causing this."
It was at that time, that the speakers inside the train were heard.

"1,2...1,2...Is this open? This is the vice-captain of the 'Sound Waves' speaking. Hello dear passengers! I think it's safe to tell you that from this point on, we're robbing this train! And all of you, are now our property. So as long as you act nice and sit in your rooms, we assure you that no scene will happen. That's all I had to say! I wish you all a rather pleasant trip."
"Help--"
As the person who sounded like the train's driver was about to ask for help, the connection was cut off.

I could see the end of me.
{A...A robbery!!?? That's just my luck...That's it...I'm gonna die} I started breathing fast.
"Okay! At least now we know who's causing this. So Ran I want to ask you a favor before we leave" Hideyoshi stopped thinking for a moment and approached me with a big smile.
"A..A favor??"
{What about a favor? What can I even do?} I looked at him sweating from all the anxiety.

"You see...Since it came to this. Could you please go along with our master? I know he can handle the situation, but there might be more terrorists walking around the train, and he doesn't have a weapon. Also...he tends to be short-tempered, and act without thinking of the effect, his actions will have to him, so please protect him for the time being. You can have this for now."
As he finished talking, he took the suitcase and opened it.

Inside there was a wooden sword. Probably for training.
"Use it to protect master Tada" As I took it on my hands I couldn't help but ask.
"B-But, wouldn't giving it to Tada be a better idea?" Hideyoshi smiled.
"Well now that you touched it, Good luck giving it to him"Making fun of his master yet again, he and Chiaki started running towards the right side of the trains and left me alone.
{W-WHAAAT??!! What should I do? What would Pandora do?}I calmed myself thinking about the promise I made earlier.
"Oh, this better turn out well..." I started running towards the left side of the train to find Tada.

{Let's see...Tada...What could he been running for?}In the end, I found him as he was getting kicked out of a room.
"Tada!! What...Where are you going???" Tada looked at me and wiped the dirt off his face.
"Rant...Great that's exactly the thing I didn't need."
He got up and started walking.
"T-Tada wait up!!" I started running to catch up with him.
"So...what were you doing back there?" Raising an eyebrow I asked this question.

"I think it would be best, if we leave the situation at Hideyoshi and Chiaki, we should hide for the time being-" As I was talking Tada stopped me as he sighed.
"Listen! First of all, It seems that we need to stay close in a situation like this, so if you want to be with me, that's fine. But you'll have to walk at least five meters away from me. As for why am I doing this, I know about the attack. I just can't leave all the work to my servants you know! As their master, I believe I should help them as much as I can."
I was stunned.
For a rich kid, Tada seemed surprisingly reliable.

"As for what I was doing, this is a train that transports well-trained swordsmen that wish to attend Tsurugi Academy. Some of them have even spent their whole life training. I thought it would be better if I could manage to get some help from people like these"
"That's true, what happened then? Where is everyone?"
"Those bastards are acting all high and mighty...even in a situation like this, their pride prevents them from acting!!" Tada was furious.{What in the world could these people be thinking? Why don't they help?} These questions filled my mind.
{Just how selfish can a person get?}

"Umm...excuse me, mister?" While I was still deep in my thoughts, a person approached us.
Looking back we saw a little girl staring at us.
"God damn it, what now?" Tada sighed as the girl continued.
"I'm sorry!!...I-I heard about the attack, and I thought if I could be of any help"That sure was surprising.
From all the swordsmen aboard the train, the only one who decided to act was none other than a little girl.

"Go back girl, I can look after only one person at a time"  Of course, Tada wouldn't afford to take her along, what could a little girl do against a gang of terrorists after all? 
He grabbed her by the hand and asked her.
"I'm sorry little miss but you will be much safer by staying inside your room...now would you kindly show me where your room is?"
The girl pointed towards a door as Tada started walking.

Tada knocked on the door two times but the only answer he got was one telling him to go away.
"What the hell? what about the girl? she could be in danger if you leave her here!!"
"It was her choice to go out there, now it's her problem" The voice answering seemed to be the one of an adult man.
But what kind of parent would leave their child like that?Sadly no matter how many times He kept knocking afterwards, he received no answer.

"Great! That was the last thing I needed, another person that will eventually need help."
Tada started complaining but even at that age, the girl seemed determined to help.
"Oh stop complaining, it's not like we can do anything about it now can we?" I sighed and tried to keep his mouth shut.

"By the way, I'm Ran Sugiyama, the one who will be known as the strongest swordsman, and you? what's your name little miss?" The girl's eyes sparkled.
"My name is Shuko Tsubaki nice to meet you mister strongest swordsman."
She giggled while calling me that and pulled her hand towards me as I started laughing.
I tried to shake her hand when Tada got between us.

"Okay okay! Introductions are nice and all but there are still terrorists inside this train, so we better get going or we'll get caught! That said, you little miss..."
"My name is Shuko Tsubaki" Tsubaki interrupted Tada and pouted.
"Yes yes, I know, Tsubaki...it seems like we can't do anything about whoever is in your room, so I'll allow you to stick with us but you'll have to stay close got it?" Once again he was reliable.
{God damn it Tada be more honest}
"Okaaay!!" Tsubaki raised her hand.
"Oh yeah, and my name is Tada Matsuri the GREAT! Don't go calling me JUST mister again"
{Aaand there goes my opinion on him... especially on the 'just' and the 'great' part} I sighed as we decided to start moving forward.

We walked for some minutes, passing from railcar to railcar. That's when it hit me.
{Were ARE we going?? Gathering people for a counter-attack was one thing, but what can only three of us do? We're up against a whole gang of terrorists, not just one guy...}
I decided to stop as we arrived inside a rail car that looked like a warehouse, with many metallic boxes scattered around.

"What's the matter Rant? I didn't allow you to stop"I leaned on one of the boxes and tried to catch my breath as my body was still weak.
"Tada, shouldn't we go back? Where are we going anyway?" Tada raised an eyebrow and sighed.
"What are you talking about? To the front of the train, of course! we might be able to help Hideyoshi and Chiaki that way"
"But we're just three kids, what can we do?"
"What's up with you so suddenly? What happened to your loud annoying and optimistic self from a couple of minutes ago?" Tada said as he looked at me in displease.
"What I'm trying to say is--" As I was about to explain we heard a loud noise coming from behind us.

We focused our eyes in the direction of the noise.
It came from the top of one of the metallic boxes.
There was a shirtless man sitting on top. His body seemed more like an adult, it was larger than mine or Tada's.
He had long black colored hair wrapped in a ponytail and there was a big mark around his neck that seemed like the bite mark of a wild beast.
He was just facing towards us with his eyes closed, as he was pointing at us with his long katana that he held beside him.

"Hmm... today's cuties don't seem like much...what are those idiots thinking? Couldn't they send something other than three kids? not that I'm complaining, since I don't dislike younger ones but...I thought this was supposed to be the train that travels to Tsurugi Academy, if so where the fuck are all the strong-looking ones?" Tada glared at him.
"Who the hell are you? Are you part of those stupid terrorists as well? What the fuck are you doing here-"
"I would advise you to not take my comrades lightly sweetheart" The ponytail guy appeared next to Tada and pointed his katana at him.
"Well, whatever..."As Tada got surprised, the ponytail guy sighed and grabbed his katana with both hands.
" At least let's see if your adorable face matches your skills!"As soon as he stopped speaking he leaped forward.

I felt the world spinning as I broke through the wall, falling inside the next rail car.
My stomach hurt.So much that I felt like I would throw up.
"What...is...this...?"
{What just happened?? When did he strike me?} There were many questions inside my mind but my body wouldn't move.
I could only hope for Tada's safety at this point.