#but the justice appears so close to human specifically to further frighten those who have committed great wrongs

[texeoghea]

isolated ipad doodle of The Rook bc i like him so much honestly

[insatiabletc]

Before we begin, we want to highlight an article by  Terrell Jermaine Starr at AlterNet. He took the time to sit down with Lamia’s family and provided a kind and compassionate profile of who Lamia was. We borrowed quite a bit from the article and we encourage you to read the full piece here.

 This is Lamia Beard, a 30 year old trans woman from Norfolk, Virginia. Lamia was one of five siblings. She was absolutely adored and supported by her family.

According to her obituary, she “loved to travel, loved different cultures and spoke French fluently. Other accolades about Lamia, is that she was an excellent singer, loved music and dancing, and could do make-up with perfection. Her favorite singer was Beyonce. Lamia was a kind person who would give the shirt off her back. She walked in the truth as a genuine person and was wise beyond her years. She was loved by many because of her humble and giving spirit.” [i]

According to her sister, Kiara Parker:

“People would pay Lamia to sing at funerals and weddings.” [ii]

“Lamia was very simple…She just wanted to get her life together.”

Terrell Jermain Starr, who sat down and interviewed Lamia’s sisters:

“Parker described Lamia as a very smart woman who…was an avid reader. She favored the encyclopedia.”

“What Lamia did have going for her…was a close-knit, loving family who embraced her.”

To further highlight the support of her family, Lamia’s obituary used she/her pronouns and used a picture of her with long hair and makeup, looking back at the camera with confidence.

It is obvious that Lamia was deeply loved.

Facts of the Case

On January 17th, 2015, a little before 4am, Lamia was shot at East 25th Street, in Norfolk, VA. In critical condition, Lamia was transported to a hospital and later died of her gunshot wound.

Very little is known publicly beyond those bare facts. In 2015 it was reported that there was a second shooting two blocks away from Lamia, and police were “unsure” if the shootings were related. We scoured the internet trying to see if they were related, but there was no available follow up to suggest one way or the other.

When we called the Norfolk Police Department, we were told her case is now being handled by cold case detectives.

How to Investigate a Cold Case

In our jaunt around the internet, we came across an article from 2015 that lambasted Norfolk police for not having found any clues in Lamia’s case (one notable quote: “A clue for the Norfolk police, get a clue.”[iii]) and it got us thinking – how should police departments solve cold cases, and what is available to them?

It appears there are a couple of different strategies that officers can pursue[iv]. The one that leapt out at us as the most promising was forensics. The other suggestions were no-brainers like make sure you address old investigative errors and keep at it.

Initially we were not hopeful about the existence of good forensics in this case, as Lamia was shot. However, we have not seen her autopsy report, so we cannot say for certain that there were no signs of struggle. There could be DNA or fingerprints that the public is not aware of. The fact that there are no public suspects doesn’t mean investigators are not running DNA through a database.

However, even if investigators are running DNA through a database and having it tested, there are definitely some obstacles in the way of getting good results:

·       Maybe Lamia’s killer doesn’t have DNA in a correctional database. If they have not been arrested, their DNA may not be on the radar.

·       We don’t know what the cold case department budget is, and it is difficult to get a clear answer as to how expensive it may be to run these tests. If the budget is limited, who gets prioritized?

It is true that in 2019 two cold case murders were solved by the Norfolk police using forensic testing, which on the face is heartening. It suggests an active cold case department. When looking at both of those cases in detail, though, it becomes a little less heartening as both seem to have unique circumstances that led to the killer:

Kathleen Doyle – murdered in 1980. In November, 2019, Norfolk investigators were able to find her killer. Unique Circumstances: Kathleen’s husband was in the Navy. Because of this, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS – yes, like the TV show) was involved from the beginning. Additionally, it was a multi-state effort, meaning there were more resources available.

Donna Walker – murdered 1981. In August 2019, Norfolk investigators were able to find her killer, and were given the Biometric Identification Award by the FBI. Unique Circumstances: Donna’s killer left a fingerprint behind. Investigators were able to run that fingerprint through a new FBI tool called the Next Generation Identification System (NGI) which matched the fingerprint to someone already incarcerated for a different homicide. While we don’t know for certain whether or not Lamia’s killer left behind a fingerprint, they would also need to have been incarcerated for this system to provide results. The NGI can only match fingerprints, palm prints, and irises.

Other than Kathleen Doyle and Donna Walker, it appears only one other cold case has been solved in Norfolk:

Lionel Wayne Baldwin – murdered 1975. In 2012, Norfolk investigators were able to charge his killer because two witnesses, who were present the night of the murder, came forward and named him. Unique Circumstances: witnesses stepped forward to provide crucial information. No DNA or forensic evidence used.

It really seems like forensics and witnesses are the only real way to solve cold cases if the initial investigation was thorough and complete. We wonder if the killer spoke to anyone about the crime. If so, we hope they come forward and speak to the police. We can understand why a witness may not want to step forward, if they themselves are frightened of the killer. Norfolk has a population of 244,076, which isn’t that large. Someone has to know something. If there aren’t forensics in Lamia’s case, we hope someone steps forward to give her family a bit of closure.

Data Issues

One question we had while researching Lamia’s case is whether the victim-offender relationship is different for trans and gender non-conforming individuals, and if that makes it harder to solve those homicides. If you will recall from our profile on India Clarke, data collection has been a consistent challenge. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has started the process of collecting data in 2013, but before that no data was being collected.

Honestly, we started down a confusing road looking at both the FBI[v] and HRC[vi] numbers, but we had too many questions about both data sets to feel comfortable comparing and contrasting the numbers. We’ll still show you both data sets so you can see what we’re talking about, but here are our questions about the data:

1.     We know the FBI tracks hate crimes and there is data on gender identity specific hate crimes out there, but if the homicide occurs in a state that does not have hate crime laws protecting gender identity, is the homicide counted as a hate crime by the FBI? Do they go off of federal definitions of crimes or defer to how the individual states track this data? We suspect it is based on states self-reporting as that is the biggest way the FBI receives this data.

2.     When is the relationship defined for the FBI and the HRC? Is it defined after charges are brought? Are both using consistent reporting measures?

3.     Is the FBI tracking gender identity in their data?

a.      is it broken down by the traditional sex lines? When you sort by “sex” is it just talking about biological sex, or does it also include gender identity?

b.     Who is hidden in the “male” category?

c.      Who is hidden in the “female” category?

4.     We know that criminalized sex work, workplace discrimination, and lack of hate crime laws contribute to these homicides, but is there more that could be discovered if this data was comparable?

5.     The HRC has just a category called “family friend”—is that family, friends, and family friends? The language explaining the graph in their report is confusing. This makes it harder to compare the family/friend categories in the FBI data.

6.     We are curious if sex work clients are rolled into the category of “acquaintances” or “stranger.” Since sex work is criminalized, it can be an increased risk factor for trans and gender non-conforming individuals and it would be helpful to know that victim-offender relationship, and if trans & gender non-conforming sex workers are at a higher risk than their cis[vii] counterparts.

 HRC Graph

FBI Data

Without the ability to parse out trans and gender non-conforming people from these categories, it is extremely difficult to see what the unique characteristics are on a macro scale. It is important that the FBI address these data issues, as the FBI data is used in both criminal justice systems as well as for criminologists in examining specific populations. The HRC data is a fantastic start, but the FBI needs to start looking at this data as well to ensure consistency. This is not to say the HRC data is not good! It has allowed us to see trends in a population that is deeply underserved and under-protected, and has given us invaluable insight into what we need to do protect trans and gender non-conforming people.

While we wait for the FBI and government agencies to start collecting the necessary data, how can agencies like the HRC get more data? We can turn our attention to media reporting.

Media Coverage

As we covered in our profile on India Clarke, media coverage is one way organizations like the HRC are able to find trans and gender non-conforming victims. However, if these victims are referred to with the wrong pronouns, it creates an opportunity for them to be missed. For example, if a trans woman is called a man in a headline, she runs the risk of not being counted among trans and gender non-conforming victims.

Beyond data tracking, how the media covers a victim can impact how a group is seen by the public. Look at how young black victims are reported on. Often, a mug shot is the photo used in the article or broadcast to imply that the victim was a criminal and they deserved a violent outcome. News stories will often invoke prior drug use and arrests to paint a picture of a hardened “thug” when in reality, those prior events had no bearing on the situation leading the victim’s murder.

Trans people have a similar narrative that the news media likes to spin. If they had sex work in their past, you had better believe that will be brought up in the coverage. Lamia Beard was no different. Some news outlets[viii] referred to her by her dead name and used he/him pronouns (making it more likely that advocates trying to track data may miss that Lamia was trans), and beyond that her criminal record and prior sex work was brought up without relevancy.

Setting aside data and public perception, how the media portrays these victims is important because the families of the victims are watching. These are real humans who are watching their loved one be picked apart.

“I was mortified…What Lamia did 5, 10, 15 years ago has nothing to do with this case. In fact, if it had anything to do with it, they should have put that in the article. It didn’t have anything to do with her being shot and murdered.”" – Lamia’s sister, Kiara Parker, on the news coverage immediately after her murder.[ix]

GLAAD[x] put out a guide for news media on how to report about trans victims of violent crimes. It suggests that if you do bring up past sex work, bring context to the table. Do not just toss out “she was a sex worker!” and leave it at that. Really, though, it should only be brought up when clearly connected to the crime. Unfortunately, the coverage of Lamia’s murder did not provide that context.

What we know about sex work is that it is often turned to when other options are not available. According to the HRC, “With limited access to workplaces, housing, and public accommodations that are guaranteed to be affirming and inclusive, transgender and gender non-conforming people are put at greater risk for poverty, homelessness and involvement with criminalized work.” [xi]

Kiara Parker paints a consistent picture of how Lamia began her involvement in sex work:

“Being transgender, it was very hard for Lamia and it affected her. She would get discouraged about applying for different jobs. It came to a point and time when Lamia just wanted people to accept her for who she was and to find a job so she could live on her own.”[xii]

“In the ensuing years, Lamia struggled to find work and depended on friends and family for support. No matter how hard she tried to support herself financially, people would not give her a shot. Parker would accompany Lamia around town as she applied for jobs, any kind of job, including fast food and clerical. In most cases, the look on hiring managers’ faces signaled that she wasn’t going to be considered. " – journalist Terrell Jermaine Starr interviewing Kiara Parker. [xiii]

“Lamia would stay with friends and family because she could never save enough money to rent her own place." – Terrell Jermaine Star

"Lamia was staying with Kendall the day before she was killed Saturday morning. Kendall said that Lamia wanted to travel the world eventually but that her goal for 2015 was to find a job and save enough money to move into her own place so that her nieces and nephews could visit and watch movies. " – Terrell Jermaine Starr

As you can see, a clearer image starts to form: Lamia wanted to be able to work as herself, but had a difficult time doing so due to the discrimination she faced. She wanted her own stable housing. With extremely limited opportunities, is it any wonder she may have turned to sex work? People get desperate.[xiv] And it had no bearing on her murder.

The media has a role in how society views trans and gender non-conforming people. The media reinforces the stereotypes and assumptions that lead hiring managers to reject candidates based on their gender identity.

Hate Crime Bill 179

So, what can we do from here? Well, one way the HRC[xv] suggests we can lower risk levels for trans and gender non-conforming people is to adopt gender identity-based hate crime laws, and increase non-discrimination protections.

There is a federal law against gender-identity hate crimes, but unless there is a reason for federal authorities to get involved in a murder, states retain jurisdiction. 

In Virginia specifically, there is a bill going through Congress that would create a gender-identity hate crime law. Bill 179 was introduced by Virginia senator Barbara Favola, who initially tried to pass a similar law in 2015 (it was rejected). As of February 27th, 2020[xvi] bill 179 has been voted to pass by the house. The next step is for the Governor to sign the bill into law. If Governor Ralph Northam does not sign it, it can be sent back to the house and senate for a vote that overrides Northam. If it is either signed or voted in by the house, it could become law as early as July 2020.

As exciting as this is for Virginia, the majority of US states still do not have gender identity hate crime laws. States that DO have hate crime laws that cover gender identity: Connecticut Delaware, DC, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont, and Washington. 

If you don’t see your state listed here, find out what is happening in your state! Are there bills in progress? If so, reach out to the organizations working on them to see what they need and how you can get involved. See where your local LGBTQIA+ resource center is – we feel confident they will be able to give you an idea of what is happening on the legislative level in your state.  

Conclusion

The loss of Lamia is heavy. We hope that the loss weighs upon a witness out there, and we hope they unburden themselves. We don’t know why Lamia was murdered, and that must be awful for her family. We aren’t fooling ourselves thinking that one of our readers has any knowledge of Lamia’s murder, but we hope her story sticks with you. We hope that you think about Lamia the next time you see news coverage of a murdered trans or gender non-conforming person and you think about how her family feels reading that article, or hearing that headline. We hope that if you are in a position to hire someone who looks like Lamia you can look past your biases and treat them fairly. We hope that if you are in a state without adequate hate crime laws, you will call your representatives and let them know something needs to be done.

 Notes

[i]  http://memorials.metropolitanservice.com/profile.aspx?id=c6d3caae-d31f-48b6-ae9f-fddcf44bc86a 

[ii] Note: all other quotes by family members were taken from this source.  https://www.alternet.org/2015/01/murdered-trans-womans-family-celebrates-her-life/ 

[iii] https://planettransgender.com/trans-woman-lamia-beard-murder-unsolved-while-witnesses-remain-silent/

[iv]  https://www.policeone.com/police-products/investigation/dna-forensics/articles/iacp-quick-take-5-ways-to-solve-a-cold-case-v0wRJkqVmO34x9qr/ 

[v] The FBI Data came from: https://crime-data-explorer.fr.cloud.gov/explorer/national/united-states/crime

[vi] https://assets2.hrc.org/files/assets/resources/Anti-TransViolenceReport2019.pdf

[vii] Cis is defined as “denoting or relating to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender corresponds with their birth sex.”

[viii] https://www.glaad.org/blog/media-continues-disrespectful-reporting-transgender-women-color-are-murdered

[ix] See i

[x] https://www.glaad.org/publications/transgendervictimsofcrime

[xi] See vi.

[xii] See i

[xiii] See i

[xiv] We do not think sex work is inherently bad, and we are of the opinion that sex works should be legalized. Not everyone who does sex work does so out of desperation, there are many people who enjoy sex work and deserve workplace protections.

[xv] See vi

[xvi] https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+sum+SB179 this page is updated in real time so you can follow it’s progress!

[kirstymcneill]

10 things you can do to tell better stories in the 2020s

This piece first appeared on the ACEVO website on the 26th of February 2020.

Folk at The Wellcome Trust are thinking big. Really big. They are looking at ways to improve the health of everybody everywhere and what role all of us can play in furthering science. But they know that philanthropy – even at its most strategic and ambitious – needs to keep adapting to changed conditions. I was really pleased to have the chance to speak with them about what I think the strategic communications environment looks like for the next ten years and to share some lessons we’ve learnt at Save the Children about how to tell better stories in these volatile times.

I started with four hypotheses about the world we are in, identifying trends that I think are simultaneously significant, global and likely to last the full decade. The first is the increasing political potency of debates about inequality. At a popular level that will play out with continual anger about the causes and consequences of the global financial crisis. For businesses and governments it will be found in the mantra of ‘Leave No-One Behind’, the pledge around convergence that is at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals. In Westminster and Whitehall, it will mean ‘levelling up’ between North and South.

The second is the extent to which we are in a movement moment. There has been a big uptick of popular mobilisation in many of the contexts where we work, despite the shrinkage of civil society space and the ‘age of impunity’ around attacks on aid workers, activists, human rights defenders and journalists. It is dangerous to stand up but increasing numbers of people are prepared to and movements which speak to core values or immediate needs are scaling quickly.

The third is that we are losing the battle over narrative and norms (and we don’t even know it). Whether it’s defending vaccines, the impact of aid, the legitimacy of the welfare state or refugee and migrant rights, many justice movements are losing a battle over narratives and norms in closed digital spaces we can’t even see.

The fourth is that all institutions face a crisis of legitimacy. Trust in both the motivations and effectiveness of institutions is low across many of the contexts where we work. Here in the UK, this is partly a reflection of our economic, cultural and geographic distance from our audiences, and the ‘empathy delusion’ that stops us feeling it. Questions about white saviourism and colonialism in international organisations will rightly become more insistent as fluency in the language of power and privilege grows.

If these hypotheses are correct, they add up to a pretty inhospitable environment for social purpose organisations like Wellcome and Save the Children. The strategies that served us well for the last decade won’t serve us well for the next ten. There are, however, ten things we can do to meet and master the challenges of these new times.

If inequality is going to dominate debates, we need to understand more about what’s driving it. That means:

1. Backing ‘systems entrepreneurs’ and not just thematic specialists. We absolutely need people with deep technical expertise in specific issues but the people making the biggest difference will be those who can see how different decisions fit together to create systemic inequalities and injustices. The RSA calls this ‘thinking like a system, acting like an entrepreneur’. Strategic philanthropy will increasingly back disruptive individuals with a diagnosis of and prescription for broken systems.

2. Investment in tools like Save the Children’s Group-Based Inequality Database (GRID). There is nothing more political – or more revealing – than how a society allocates money on who lives and who dies. If we care about global health we have to care about how it is financed and who is being left – or being pushed – behind.

If we are in a movement moment we should:

3. Increasingly think about ‘fields’ rather than sectors and coalitions. I’ve spent a lot of my career running formal charity coalitions and the lessons on how to do that is a blog for another day. Increasingly I’m convinced we will need much looser movement infrastructure in the future, finding ways to make sense of constellations including thinkers, writers, cultural leaders, funders and systems entrepreneurs as well as organisational and grassroots leaders. When I have written before about our movement moment I have stressed the need for unbranded leadership emerging from lots of different organisations. Increasingly I think some of our leaders won’t have an institutional home at all and funders will need to find a way to work with those whose contribution will take the form of writing books or producing art to help us make sense of where we are.

4. Make the move from campaigning to organising. Save the Children is in the middle of this transition but the campaign for aid and development has long understood the importance of ‘local resonance’ and not giving the (false) impression that your issue is for ‘other people’s people’, as campaign director Richard Darlington lays out so well here.

If we are losing the narrative and norms war our best bets are to:

5. Kill off the literalism. We know that telling people they are wrong just entrenches their views and we know that myth-busting simply makes the myths more memorable. I’m afraid it’s time to say goodbye to #AidWorks, #VaccinesWork and #CampaigningWorks (unless we are just using them as ways to tag content to make it easier for those who already agree with us to find). Instead, we should focus more on appealing to universal human truths as we did with Save the Children’s recent #IAmTheFuture brand advert.

6. Investing significantly in engaging at the level of popular culture. The Holocaust Educational Trust did this successfully with Holby City, the Children’s Society have recently been working with Hollyoaks and you can read more about Unbound Philanthropy’s cutting edge thinking here. There is clearly an appetite for programming that helps social issues become tangible and relevant – 24 Hours in A&E is now in its 20th season – but there doesn’t seem to be much coordination between organisations and funders working on culture. If I’m wrong I’m very happy to be – so please get in touch if this is happening quietly.

7. Back those who are charting what’s happening in closed online spaces and take their advice. The Center for Countering Digital Hate’s Don’t Feed the Trolls report was a gamechanger for me (and led to me going on the board, for full disclosure). On many issues professional campaigners are often blind to the online forums shaping tomorrow’s memes and testing out the dog-whistles that do so much damage to the causes and communities we love.

And finally, if we face a crisis of legitimacy the areas to focus on are

8. Becoming as diverse as we can as quickly as we can. The ‘Empathy Delusion’ report is one of the best things I’ve read this year, charting not only how far many comms professionals are from our audience, but how dangerously naïve we are about that being the case. Staying in our bubbles but developing greater empathy with those outside them is not the answer – bursting the bubbles through radical inclusion is. NPC’s Walking the Talk series has a load of resources on that if you don’t know where to start.

9. Making an intellectually self-confident case for the value of institutions. I spoke at Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government last year and made the case for public sector leaders being more assertive about their value and their values. I was asked, fairly, what it would look like in practice. A few months later it became clear – it looks like the Chief Medical Officer calling out the errant nonsense of a politician or the Made at Uni campaign giving tangible examples of what universities do for all of us.

My final tip doesn’t relate to any of the specific trends but is the most important thing we can do if we feel overwhelmed by the combination of them:

10. Take care of each other. There is a lot of discussion in activist circles about self-care. My worry is this is coming at the same time as the mass retreat to private life as many of our best campaigners and communicators are concluding the public square is just too toxic to operate in. I understand the temptation and I’ve written elsewhere about the seven trends that are undermining our democracy. I’m frightened and on the edge of burn-out too. I know it’s tough out there, but if our collective liberation is rooted in our collective action then surely we need to find a way to move to collective care, a model where all of us take care of each of us and nobody has to take care of themselves.

We don’t have any time to lose in testing and adapting these ten lessons and formulating new ones. We have just ten years to meet the Sustainable Development Goals. In the coming decade, we could determine, once and for all, that it is intolerable that anybody anywhere will die simply because they are too poor to stay alive. If we achieve it, people like us – the campaigners and communicators – will have been at the heart of the greatest thing we’ve ever done as a species. What greater story could there be than that?

[herokamijoutouma]

Hyperdimension Sephira Ep. 1 - Welcome to Gamindustri

Episode 1:

Welcome to Gamindustri

“Ahh! Damn! Damn! God damn it! This is definitely not my day!!”

Even as he realized his cries sounded rather strange, Tsukamoto Shizuki showed no sign of stopping his tremendous flight. As he ran through back alleys late at night, he glanced over his shoulder.

There were six of them.

He ran frantically all over for almost two kilometers, but there were still six of them.

Of course, Tsukamoto Shizuki had no way to win in a fight against that many unless he happened to be a former foreign unit’s cook or a cyber-ninja that had survived to the present day. In a fight between high school students, anything beyond one-on-three was out of the question. That could be called “impossible” even before taking any skill he might have had into account. Tsukamoto kicked over a filthy plastic bucket and frightened off a black cat as he continued running.

It was January 3, 2028.

A new year was just beginning, which would often be seen as a moment of celebration for most people, however, in Tsukamoto's case, he felt as though there was nothing joyous about it. At least not for him personally.

Any hopes of him believing that this would be a good year had been hopelessly crushed into the wind. After all, he was being pursued by six different people.

And there was a reason for that.

Tsukamoto Shizuki was an individual whose life was not worth telling about. If one were to see him, he would be seen as an average looking 17 year old who lived an average life with his family and friends. However, this was not entirely the case. While his life was somewhat mundane, it wasn't by any means normal. As of now, he was someone that was not desired by the world around him; an outcast shunned and sometimes mocked for his special circumstances.

In this world, there were humans that have been born with special abilities and attributes not belonging to those of normal human beings. As a result, the ordinary people in the world grew fearful and reacted in a multitude of ways. Some reactions ranged from hate groups, to task forces created by various governments to deal with these people, and even cases of fanatical worship. Hate and fear was what mostly gripped this world when it came to these beings and as such, they were given an official classification.

Espers.

People who developed supernatural abilities often at a young age. An unfortunate circumstance that tore apart families.

But that was neither here nor there. Shizuki's life was probably in danger, due to the fact that gossip had spread about his "powers" for a while now, which hurt him pretty much in most corners of his life. But he wasn't being pursued by some radical organization or some task force, but rather a group of delinquents who happened to be old classmates of his from middle school. People who heard about his "powers" and wanted to beat him up out of hatred for his supposed kind.

It was a chance encounter he had while walking back home from the convenience store, where the group had recognized him and decided to enforce their own sense of justice upon him by beating him to a bloody pulp.

The blue haired teen ran has fast as his legs could humanly carry him, wanting to get away from his pursuers. The delinquents were around his age of varying builds and heights, each shouting curses and threats while they chased him.

After making a couple roundabout maneuvers and turns, he found himself in a empty alley way with his path blocked by a wall. If the delinquents did somehow manage to catch up to him, he could have no way of escaping. Hoping that wasn't the case, he finally spoke aloud in strained gasps as he tried to inhale oxygen in his lungs.

"Did I... finally lose them?"

The teen laid up against the wall, trying to catch his breath as he slumped down to the ground. A sense of relief washed over him as was prepared to determine if the storm had passed. But that illusion would soon be mercilessly smashed.

"Yo. Corpse..."

("Damn...")

His heart immediately sank when he heard the delinquent's voice call out to him, using a name he came to hate so much.

There stood the five young men, looking down on him like a pack of wolves ready to tear into their prey. Shizuki jumped to his feet at once, his back immediately pressed against the wall, with an anguished expression. The leader of the group clearly saw how helpless he looked and thought to amuse himself.

"You know.... yer quite fast for a little corpse, I'll give you that."

"...."

Shizuki expressed a tinge of anger as the young thug spoke. Because of a specific incident that caused one of his powers to awaken years prior, classmates, and even some adults had been calling him that name ever since.

"Come on you guys... don't you idiots have anything better to do than to gang up on some outcast like me?"

"We consider it a great honor to beat up freaks like you."

One of the delinquents retorted.

"You damn Espers have been screwin' up the world for a long time lately. It's about time we finally do our part and show you that you damn'd freaks don't belong!"

The tallest one shouted, slamming his fist into his palm with great enthusiasm.

"How many times do I have to tell you bozos that I'm not an Esper?! I don't even have the Gene for crying out loud! Are you guys so thick skulled that you don't even know about that?"

The youth shouted with slight irritation as he was tired of being mistaken for an Esper and being treated as such by the people in this damn town. The blond haired delinquent finally spoke up addressing his leader.

"Yo senpai, This mutant has quite the shitty mouth. Don'tchya think it's time he learns his lesson?"

"Oh yeah, you got a point there Watanabe."

The leader of the group smirked as he walked toward Shizuki cracking his knuckles. He tensed up at this moment, getting into a fighting posture. This wasn't the first time he fought most of these guys before.

He fought them back when he was in his third year of middle school, though the fight had no victor as it was broken up by nearby teachers and students; a fight which resulted in Tsukamoto himself getting suspended while the aggressors had only gotten detention.

Before he could act however, the leader rushed at him and threw a punch that connected to his face so hard, it knocked him back into the wall and onto the ground. The youth tried to get up, but his attempt was stopped by the heavy force he felt kicking him back down.

The other delinquents chuckled maliciously as the gathered around the fallen high school student and began stomping his body into the ground. The hits had repeatedly connected with his head, arms, hand, leg, and even his crotch was not spared from the brutal assault these guys gave him. Shizuki could feel his rage building up as each foot trampled him mercilessly. Every time he intended to retaliate, his efforts would be automatically halted, angering him further.

("I hate this place... I hate these people.... I hate this world. I wish I could just disappear from this place for good.")

He honestly would not mind if these people had stomped his brains in and ended his life here. In this town, everywhere he went, some people would give him wary looks, as if he were infected by some kind of disease. he had friends in the past, but they abandoned him in one way or another, and his parental guardian, Tsukamoto Hakurei was always away from home due to "work."

He was alone. Loved by few and hated by many. Living a hollow life that was accompanied by misery.

"Just let me disappear for good... I don't even care how... I'm sick of this pointless excuse for a life."

He had bothered not even trying at that point, not even trying to defend himself, for he wanted his life to end in one way or another.

After having his body trampled on for what seemed like an eternity to the youth, the delinquents finally relented before the leader sighed.

"Man, that felt good. Nothing like beating the shit out of some Esper freak amirite?"

"You got that right senpai!"

The younger thug exclaimed, holding a thumbs up. The leader looked down on the boy who had a somewhat expressionless look on his face.

"But just for good measure..."

He raised his foot back before propelling it forward, hitting Shizuki hard in the head, which was enough to make him slip out of consciousness.

The young men laughed heartily in response to their gang leader dealing the final blow to the unordinary youth's skull.

"Careful bro, the dude might literally become a corpse."

One of the delinquents said so in a joking manner, showing almost no concern for the boy's life.

"Eh, you're right. Let's get outta here. I hear that new burger joint opened up yesterday."

"Aw yeah! I hear their burgers are the bomb!"

And as if forgetting he was there, the gun-ho males turned away from Tsukamoto and headed to their next destination, talking about inconsequential crap.

"...."

The youth laid there alone in the dark alleyway, writhing in pain from the beating he took. It was close to midnight and he was fading in and out of consciousness from the last blow to the head he received. His vision was starting to fade and it was only a matter of time before lost consciousness. But before he did....

"H...Huh?"

A figure stood before him.

The figure did not appear human, although it was in human shape. The figure resembled that of a human female in terms of how its body was structured, however, its features were heavily obscured by a bright light that it gave off. The female appeared to have long hair, though of unknown color and wore robes of unknown detail. If Shizuki could describe this thing, Goddess would immediately come to mind.

The light wasn't bright enough to hurt his already strained eyes, but it was enough too obscure her features so that only the outline of her figure could be seen and nothing more.

"W...Who are y...you..?

Tsukamoto called out to the <Goddess> in a weak tone, though she showed no reaction to his question. Instead, the being of white light walked toward the fallen boy and looked down on him for a few brief moments before speaking to him in an incomprehensible voice.

「" ─── My poor child. You have lived a hard life here have you not? I am sorry that you had to endure the hardships you had on this world."」

The being's voice was unbelievable.  It was filtered and disguised through unknown means, but he could definitely tell the voice was female despite his dazed state. Her voice carried a sense of serenity and strength, indicating that her words carried a lot of weight in them. She didn't radiate murderous intent but instead, gave off an aura that felt... motherly.

  「"I had hoped that you would be safe in this world.... but now I fear that your life is in jeopardy once more."」

He couldn't understand the being clear enough. His consciousness was fading and  it was only a matter of time before his vision would fade completely.

「"And so, I must send you away once more. May the Root bless you with a more meaningful life in the new world... and moreso ───"」

The <Goddess>'s tone became more severe as she uttered these last few words.

「"───may The Root protect you from evil that lurk within the darkness."」

A cryptic message had been given. The youth's ears heard it, but he was too out of it to fully grasp the information.

("A guardian angel huh..? Why come to my aid now of all times?")

Before Shizuki could even speak out loud, he could no longer hold on to reality, but the image before him would be ingrained in his memory forever. A girl made of brilliant white light, carrying the grace and serenity of an angel. If he didn't know any better, he swore he could have seen a smile on the entity's shrouded features.

The world suddenly became white and Tsukamoto Shizuki was no longer on Earth.

※※※※※

A pair of brown eyes finally opened after a long slumber. The youth awoke to find himself laying comfortably in a soft bed with the covers pulled over his body.

"Auhhh..."

The first thing his eyes laid their gaze upon was a white ceiling. An unfamiliar ceiling in an unfamiliar room.

"Where the hell am I... and why do I feel like I got body slammed by those fake TV wrestlers?"

The youth felt sore on multiple areas on his body, including an area where no man should ever be hit and to top that off, his head was assailed by a sharp throbbing pain, which caused him to hold his head in discomfort.

"Ugh.... what the heck was I even doing that made me feel like some bedridden grandpa?"

Tsukamoto searched his memories to find out what could have happened that resulted in his current situation. Then he remembered. The delinquents, the beating, and the <Goddess> that appeared before him.

"So that really did happen... the ass beating followed by the guardian angel showing up."

He thoroughly remembered getting stomped on by those thugs and the faces and remarks they made when they did so. Thinking about it began to stir up heavy emotions, namely anger. He also questioned if he really did see an Angel Goddess of any sort, but he could worry about that later. Right now, he had other things to figure out.

("What's up with this room? This definitely doesn't look like a hospital room...")

Indeed. A normal hospital room would be plain looking in design, but the room resembled that of someone's bedroom, and not just anyone's bed room; a girl's bedroom.

The walls were painted pink and the shelves were adorned with books, stuffed animals, and for some reason, an object that looked like a giant syringe sitting in the corner of the room.

("Whoever lives here must be a girl or... a really flamboyant dude with some interesting design choices. huh? What the hell is this..?")

The more he moved his body, the more he felt like something was restraining him in a way. He looked down at his body only to find that the shirt and jacket of his school's uniform was completely removed and that half his torso was wrapped in bandages.

("Ok, I know I took a beating but this is ridiculous. What kind of quack doctor stitches people up like this?")

Shizuki took a closer look at the bandage work. It had been wrapped around his body tightly, affected areas of the beatings included, but the work was so sloppily done, a real medical physician would laugh and think of it as a big joke... or facepalm hard.

"Some amateur obviously did this. I can't fault them for trying to help though, but did they really need to use this much bandage? I'm not even sure if I need them at this point."

The teen mused as he stood up from the bed and began undoing some of the bandages that were wrapped around his person. The areas that had either been bruised or cut had indeed healed, though said areas was still somewhat sore. It was no doubt one of his special abilities that he had loathed so much, and one that gave him the nick name Corpse to begin with...

Tsukamoto walked over to the room's only window only to have his eyes widen at the sight he was greeted with.

"What the..."

He realized that he was in a building, several stories high, of what he assumed was an apartment complex. He also noticed that the building was in the middle of large city, with building designs he had never seen before. At least not in Japan. Back in his hometown, there was no huge metropolis and his neighborhood only consisted of a row of houses and the occasional convenience stores in the area overall.

This city on the other hand, did not resemble his home town at all. The buildings were of varying heights and sizes, but all of them were white. Not that white buildings were uncommon back home, but not all of them were white like this. Another thing that caught Shizuki's eye was a towering large structure in what seemed like the middle of the city, arching over the buildings like some giant arch, only it was rectangular. If it wasn't for this huge structure, he would have initially assumed that he was in a city like Tokyo or maybe even NYC before observing more closely.

("...Okay. I'm not sure if I should be awestruck or panicking right now, but where the hell am I?")

The teen mentally commented as he begun to contemplate his situation.

He was in a room he didn't recognize.

He was in a building he didn't recognize.

He was in a city he didn't recognize.

At this point, he may as well have been in another country altogether. He was unsure how to feel at the moment. Part of him was glad that he was out of the place that he felt unwelcome in, but another part of him was wary of his new surroundings because he had no idea what would be in store for him.

However, before he could make any further attempts to process this turn of events, a sudden voice snapped him back to the present.

"Oh, you're up. Good morning sleepy head! Well actually, good afternoon!"

Shizuki turned around to face the origin of the voice. Standing in the doorway was a girl, no older than Shizuki himself with  hair that was a light creamy pink color, which was somewhat long and curls along the edges worn with a black headband with a C patched on the side. Her clothing consisted of a tan-white wool styled tank top with big neck and un-attached sleeves and matching styled boots, but with small ribbons/fuzzy balls at the top along with red plaid skirt and a black choker with a heart.

The teen remained silent for a while, before saying anything. This was really the first time, as far as he can remember being alone in the same room with a girl his own age, especially one whom he would admit was rather cute in his eyes. But such thoughts aside, there was a small feeling that something about this girl was familiar to him, but couldn't place his finger on it.

After a good few moments of silence, Shizuki asked the obvious question.

"Uh, I might be asking a dumb question here but, how on earth did you manage to drag me from a dirty alleyway in Japan all the way to...where ever this place is?"

The girl tilted her head in slight confusion at his words before answering his question.

"You fell from the sky and landed in the ground with a weird symbol scribbled on it.. so I pulled you out and carried you back home!"

The girl tilted her head in slight confusion at his words before answering his question.

"Well, it was just three nights ago that I saw a light in the sky... that was you!"

"Well that explains it... wait what? Light in the sky? Three Nights ago?"

The male was confused as to what she meant.  If what she was saying was true, then he was out of commission for damn near three days. Also...

"When I found you, you were laying in the middle of this weird symbol thingy drawn in the ground.. so I carried you all the way back home and has been treating you ever since."

The girl smiled innocently as if there was nothing odd with what she just told him.

"You carried me here all by yourself?"

Shizuki asked with some disbelief. As much as he had a hard time picturing the girl carrying him as if he were lightweight, He could only imagine the looks she would've gotten if anyone had actually saw her do so.

"Why didn't you take me to a hospital? That would've been way more simpler than just carrying me."

"Well, as you can see I'm a nurse in training! It wouldn't just do for me to not do my part and not treat you as best I can! Pluss..."

The girl trailed off for a bit as if she wanted to say something but held off on it, earning her a raised eyebrow from her guest. She then shook her head before resuming to a new topic.

"I'm Compa by the way! What's your name?"

"Shizuki. Tsukamoto Shizuki. It's nice to meet you."

The youth put on a pleasant smile as he introduced himself to his host.

"Nice to meet you uh, Shiza...Shizur... Shizu-kun!"

The girl named Compa fumbled over her words as she attempted to pronounce Shizuki's name before coming up with a nickname for him that was easier for her to say.

The teen tried to suppress his minor embarrassment as a faint blush briefly manifested on his face. He was not used to other people calling him by such names, as the last time he had been addressed similarly was when he was in grade school. He wanted to make a remark about the nickname he was given but that thought was replaced by yet another question.

"Wait, hold up... weird symbol? You found me laying in something like that?"

"Mm, it was really weird looking.. I never saw anything like it."

The girl nodded as she recalled the subject of interest and its appearance.

"Well, I'll admit, my curiosity's now piqued. If I was found in such a thing, I think it would do me well to check it out."

"Ooh! I can take you there then, Shizu-kun!"

There was still a lot that the Youth wanted to ask. About the events of last night involving that entity, his new surroundings and how he got there. His theory about being sent to a possibly different world by that thing was not thrown out of the window, but it was still to early to make such assumptions. If he were to see this supposed symbol he as recovered from 3 nights ago, he would hope to find clues as to what happened with him that night.

※※※※※

More than several minutes later had passed. The two had already left the apartment complex to go to the location where Shizuki was found just three nights prior. Following Compa's lead, he walked about the city and couldn't help but marvel at the sights. The buildings, roads and even vehicles seemed to be futuristic in design, and the pedestrians that walked around them wore varying styles of clothes that would cause one back home to raise an eyebrow and question their fashion sense.

what's more, there was a white and green rectangular structure in the middle of the downtown area that did not resemble any landmark he's seen before.

"By the way Compa-san, what the heckt is this place?"

"We're in the main city of Leanbox, one of the four nations of Gamindustri."

"Leanbox? Gamindustri?"

Tsukamoto uttered out the two unfamiliar words as if asking for confirmation. It seems that his theory about being sent to a different world was beginning to sound more plausible.

"Mm, Ruled by the goddess, Green Heart, Leanbox is called the land of prosperity. It's a beautiful country where people settle down to retire or start a family."

"Is that so? It does kinda seem like the kind of place to settle down or take a vacation to every once and a while... wait, Goddess?"

Shizuki aptly responded while taking in his surroundings before something she said caught his attention. Meanwhile, Compa nodded and continued with the explanation.

"Gamindustri has four nations, all which are ruled by goddesses. Purple Heart for Planeptune, Black Heart for Lastation, White Heart for Lowee, and Green Heart for Leanbox."

"Well, I guess it's official. I'm no longer on earth.... so these goddesses, what are they like?"

His theory was confirmed. He was without a doubt, in another world, one that was ruled by goddesses too. Despite this, he didn't seem that all concerned with the possibility of being stranded there, for one reason or another... Instead, he was more curious about the setting he was thrown into.

"Well, Nep-Nep's a lazy gamer that hates working, Noire's a busybody that spends all day in her office, Blanc's a shy anti social author who spends her day trying write novels, and Vert's also a gamer who spends too much time in her room."

"Eh?"

That description completely contrasted the kind of image he imagined the Goddesses would be. He pictured that they would be something like the Deities recorded in multiple religions and mythologies, some being kind and tranquil, some being vengeful, and some that were just plain vindictive, but from what it sounded like, the Gamindustrian Goddesses sounded more teenagers and collage students if anything.

With people like this running a whole country and its government, he was surprised these countries were still standing at all, much less functioning.

"That's... quite an interesting bunch. It sounds like you're pretty familiar with them though."

"Yeah! Nep-Nep, Ge-Ge, and everyone else are my friends! Maybe I'll introduce you to them sometime!"

The nurse in training spoke about her friends happily.

"Yeah, I'd like that. Oh?"

Shizuki returned a smile to the girl, before noticing something that caused him to stop.

The boy then went over to what looked like a pile of trash bags and had begun to shuffle through them.

"Hm? What are you doing, digging around the trash like that, Shizu-kun?"

Compa asked, tilting her head in confusion as she watched him rummage through the rubbish.

It was then that the boy had pulled out a long wooden object.

"Ah, perfect!"

It was a wooden sword. It was one of the wooden swords that were often used for training purposes by those practicing Kendo. Not lethal, but still very painful if hit hard enough by it.

"What's that?"

"It's a kendo training sword, and in good condition too... I wonder who would throw something like this away when it's not even damaged."

Tsukamoto mused as he inspected the weapon closely. Judging from the lack of dirt on it, it was likely that it had been thrown away very recently.

"I see that, but what are you gonna do with it, Shizu-kun?"

"We're going to a park just outside of town right? Who knows what kind of wild animal we'll run into on the way. Besides, I used to practice kendo for a while. This might be a good excuse to get back into it."

"Well, if you say so."

※※※※※

After walking for quite a while, the pair found themselves in a wooded area, surrounded by towering trees and nature, with only a small road that leads from the town and deeper into the forest.

There were no other humans visible in the area except for themselves.

During their walk into the park, the two had told each other about themselves, what their daily routines were, and what they were interested in. During this, Shizuki told her about the circumstances that lead to his sudden appearance in this world.

He may have omitted some facts such as his 'powers', but for the most part, he got the point across about him being from another world.

"So you're from another dimension?"

"It looks like it. I still don't understand it myself... who, or what was that thing that sent me here, and why?"

The blue haired teen's question was not really directed at his new friend, but more or less at himself as if reminding him if what really happened that night was real.

"Hmm, maybe there's something here that was missing in your world?"

"Hah, I sure wish it was something as poetic as that."

Tsukamoto shrugged, hanging his newly acquired weapon behind his head while walking.

"Still, you don't seem all that worried about being so far from home. Aren't you scared?"

"Eh? Well, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. This is a different world and a lot of things are so different. Even so, there's really no rush for me to get back home. I'd just like to think of it as being on vacation."

There were several reasons why Shizuki was not in any hurry to return to his home world. Most of them mainly revolved around how he was treated as an outcast because of his ability, and part of it was because the world in general was teetering on being too hostile for his own liking.

Between the chaos that was going on in the middle east, the uneasy vibe America was giving after its second civil war, and the heightened animosity toward Espers after several incidents, he did not want to stick around when all hell broke loose once more if he could help it.

Besides, he was curious about his new surroundings and the world he was brought to. The more he could find out, the more he could form an opinion to see if he was actually willing to stay here in the end.

"Well, until you decide to leave, you're welcome to stay at my place if you like!"

Compa offered, happily.

"Really? I mean, I don't want to be a bother if I can help it. Besides, isn't kind of weird having a guy you just met stay over your house like this?"

"It's no bother at all! Besides, it wouldn't feel right to just throw you out on the street... I also think you're a nice person Shizu-kun, so I trust you!"

Shizuki couldn't help but chuckle at that statement. he had been called quite a few things, but nice person was rarely one of them.

"Haha, well that's a first. I mean, I'd like to think I'm a nice person, but this is the first time someone's ever called me that outright."

"Really?" The pink haired girl tilted her head.

"Well, I guess the reason for that is that I don't really have a friend or two to chat with like this back home."

The youth cast his gaze off to the side as if remembering something unpleasant before trying to force said memory into the back of his head.

Before Compa could make a comment, she suddenly stopped and her attention was focused on something in front of her.

Shizuki noticed this too as he also stopped walking and looked at the scenery before him.

On the path before them were creatures. These creatures were frolicking around in the field before them like a heard of animals would.

Only these were not normal animals.

They were blue masses of unknown substances with dog like features with no arms or legs of any kind.

"Hey Compa-san, what the heckt are those?"

"Those are Doggos. They're little jelly monsters that look like dogs, but if you aren't quick enough, they latch onto you and try to get in your clothes. It's really icky.."  

The pink haired nurse grimaced as she recalled the last time she encountered a Dogoo.

"Sounds kind of gross... oh well, time to get started then."

With a brief stretch, Tsukamoto readied his wooden sword as if preparing for combat, his face donning an eager smile.

The gesture only caused his partner to give him a confused look.

"Shizu-kun?"

"These things will be a problem if we continue right? Then I should try to take the good lot of em' out to make the path easier."

"I guess so... but can you really fight?"

"I DID used to practice kendo for a while back home. While I don't consider myself particularly good, I think I can handle these guys no problem!"

Shizuki let out a wry grin.

Some of the doggos in question had just now noticed their presence and were slowly making their way to their position.

"Okay, if you say so... in that case, I'll help out too then! Um, just let me get this out..."

And without warning, Compa had pulled out a ridiculously large object that shouldn't be able to fit on her person.

It was a massive syringe with an unknown pink substance inside.

"H-Huh?! What's with that huge syringe?!"

The appearance of the object had completely caught the youth off guard. At first glance, it appeared to be nothing more than a standard medical syringe.

The only thing was its size. It was comically too big for anyone to casually carry it around.

"Oh, this is my weapon. I use it to fight bad monsters! It's really nifty!"

"Uh-huh... I'm not even going to ask where you pulled that out from."

The blue haired teen stared at his partner's 'weapon' in disbelief before turning his attention to the on coming wave.

"Alright then, let's mop the road with these guys!"

"Yessy!"

With their spirits fired up, the pair promptly rushed toward the group of dogoos with Tsukamoto leading the charge.

A sharp battle cry escaped his lungs as he swung the wooden sword down on the first target he saw near him. The strike sent the doggo in question back, before it was hit again from another attack from the sword. The second strike had damaged the creature enough that it had expired, disappearing in a few pixelated lights.

Shizuki went onto the next target and dealt with them in the same manner. Compa on the other hand took her Syringe(?) and aimed it at some of the slime-like creatures and began to fire projectiles that were seemingly made out of some kind of energy at the Doggos as if it were some kind of Gatling gun.

The Doggos went down with little effort as the energy projectiles hit at least five of them unimpeded.

The youth continued his close ranged assault with his new weapon, taking out the small creatures with swift strikes. Some had managed to dodge a few of his hits, but they were ultimately too slow as he got close and dealt the finishing blows.

It wasn't that he was strong. In a fight against any other creature or a trained human, he would lose for sure. The Doggos were fairly weak in comparison to other beasts however. Even a child with a baseball bat could deal with these things easily.

"Hah! This is pretty good exercise! I just might start practicing again!"

with a grin, Shizuki continued to fight back, hitting any Dooggo that came into close proximity of his weapon.

However...

"K-Kyaaaaaaa!"

A nearby scream had caught his attention.

"?!"

"D-Don't go in there...!"

He quickly turned around to see that one of the creatures had gotten the jump on Compa and had already latched itself onto her, trying to get into her clothes.

"Hang in there, Compa-san!"

He swatted one of the creatures aside before going to her aid, but his advance was quickly stopped as one of the Doggos had hopped onto his head, getting in his hair.

"H-Hey! Get off!"

The teen had quickly yanked off the creature throwing it aside when another one had attached itself to his pant leg.

"Oi Oi, Tsukamoto Shizuki is not a free ride for slime dogs! Off with you!"

The boy protested, shaking his leg vigorously in order to get the slime lifeform  to detach itself off his leg. The creature relented and it was dealt with with a swift strike to the head.   Shizuki then rushed over to Compa who was starting to get surrounded by a few of them while struggling to get rid of the one that latched onto her.

With small shout, he rushed over to his partner and struck the the masses of slime with his weapon, taking them out.

And at the same time, the pink haired nurse managed to force the thing off of her and threw it away before it was promptly struck in the head by a certain wooden sword.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine desu... is that all of them?"

"Yeah, I think so... Boy were those things persistent. I'm starting to see why you didn't like dealing with them."

Shizuki let out a sigh of relief as he extended his hand to help up his partner.

"Uguuu... I never wanna fight another doggo for as long as I live..."

The girl groaned as she took his hand and stood up dusting herself off.

The two took a brief sigh of relief, feeling that they had dealt with all of the blue masses of slime that proliferated in the area.

However...

They had noticed a large shadow loom over them from behind. The pair had slowly turned their heads to see what monstrosity has appeared this time.

A Doggo. More specifically, a Doggo that was ten times bigger than the ones they had exterminated.

Fighting dozens of smaller doggos were bad enough as it was, but a big one?

Shizuki's left eye twitched slightly as he imagined how much of a nightmare it would be to tackle this thing.

"...Yep, screw this."

And having said that, Shizuki took off running down the path they traveling on before.

"Wait for me, Shizu-kuuunn!"

Compa took off running as well, the giant mass of slime hopping after them.

※※※※※

After running for a few minutes, the pair had already lost sight of the giant thing. Doggos were not fast creatures at all and could be easily outran, and the same went double for the bigger ones. Fortunately, Doggos also tended to give up, once their target of interest had reached a certain distance.

In the end, they were not hostile creatures, but simply liked latching onto other people and getting into their clothes for whatever reason.

"I think we lost it..."  Said Shizuki as he rested his hands on his knees, breathing a bit heavily.

After a catching his breath for a few moments, he suddenly saw something that caught his eye just up ahead.

"Eh? What's that?"

He saw something that was etched into the ground just up ahead, but couldn't make out what it was from where he was standing.

"Oh, this is it!"

The pink haired girl spoke up before running over to the area Shizuki had spotted. With curiosity, the youth followed her lead and walked over to the area to get a better look.

"Ah, is this..."

On the ground before them was an intricately drawn symbol, almost resembling summoning circles drawn by cultists. Only two things stood out to them.

One of them was that the symbol was not drawn onto the ground. It was 'burned' into it, as if the ground was branded by whatever created the symbol.

And the other... it was drawn in such a complex way that the lines and writing seemed almost alien in design.

"This is where I found you, Shizu-kun. You fell from a light in the sky and landed right here."

"This... is definitely something. Now I'm one hundred percent positive that thing sent me here. I don't know of a single thing back home that could make something like this."

The teen walked over to the symbol and stepped inside of it before kneeling down and tracing his fingers through the lines that were burned into the surface.

"Compa-san, does this look like anything familiar to you?  Have you seen something like this anywhere else?"

The addressed shook her head.

"Nope, never seen anything like it before desu..."

"That so huh?  It doesn't look like there are any clues nearby about this thing either. Do you think we should head back and-"

A strange sound interrupted Tsukamoto, causing him to stop in his tracks.

"What the heckt was that sound?"

The sound was heard again, only louder. They could not determine where it came from, but it sounded nearby...

"I have a bad feeling about this desu..."

And in that moment, the ground their feet was planted on was rapidly crumbling from the added pressure.

It appeared that the ground they were standing on was hollow and whatever branded the ground and weakened it to the point of crumbling apart.

"W-Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!"

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"

The pair screamed at the top of their lungs as they plummeted down into the depths unknown.

※※※※※

Darkness. That was the only word they could describe when they came to their senses. The sunlight and clear blue sky they were under was replaced with a dark ceiling made of rock, with a hole where the sun was shining down on them.

"Ohh..."

Shizuki lifted himself up and rubbed his head with his right hand. The fall didn't seem high enough to be fatal, but it was enough daze him and leave him with a few scrapes.

"Well that was terrible... Hey, Compa-san, are you alright?"

The youth looked over to his new friend as the person in question lifted herself up and rubbed her head, still dazed from the fall.

"Yessy... I think so."

"Where are we?"

Tsukamoto looked around to get a good view of their surroundings. It was indeed a cave. However, there was something unusual about it though.

Like most caves it was dark and wet, but rather than the cave being completely pitch black, it was dimly lit by a collection of blue glowing crystals, littered on the walls, ceiling and floors of the cave. Something which the youth never saw before in any cave as far as he knew.

"I think we're beneath the park... this place feels a bit weird desu..."

"I don't think we're going to get out the way we came... the hole's too high up to climb out of."

Letting out a dejected side, he got onto his feet and looked around for a possible way out. There were no rocks that they could stand on top of and the walls were too smooth and damp to climb on.

"But how are we going to get out of here, Shizu-kun?"

Asked Compa as she too stood up.

"There's a small draft coming in from the left... I'm guessing that leads to somewhere outside."

The blue haired youth faced the direction of the cave he had pointed out. There was indeed a draft coming from there, albeit faint and not immediately noticeable.

"Oh, I feel it too!"

"Let's get going, I don't want to hang around here too much."

"Y-Yessy!"

Tsukamoto shivered a bit before pressing forward down the cave, the girl nodding before following his lead.

About a good 19 minutes had passed since they started walking. They could feel the draft getting ever so stronger, but there was still no sign of any daylight from ahead.

The only light source that was visible in the cavern were the glowing crystals that scattered all across the walls and floors. For people who enjoyed dark rooms with ambient lighting, they would probably appreciate this place having its own light source with out any eternal power source.

However, the two humans that were currently traversing the dimly lit caverns did not share those sentiments. In fact, they were rather uncomfortable here, especially a certain pink haired nurse if her mild complaint was any indication.

"We've been walking for a long time Shizu-kun... are you sure we're going the right way?"

"The draft's gotten stronger hasn't it? Just a little bit further and we'll be out of this place soon."

Shizuki spoke as he gave his partner a reassuring smile. He did understand her complaints though. They had been walking for roughly 20 minutes and they had yet to find the exit. Being stuck in a dark place like this was bound to play with one's nerves if they were not used to frequenting such places.

Just as she let out a small sigh, Compa stopped in her tracks and turned her gaze upward at some part of the cavern ceiling.

"Hm? What's wrong, Compa-san?"

The girl remained quiet for a few seconds before shaking her head.

"Mm, it's nothing desu. Probably just imagining things."

Before Tsukamoto could say anything, a small bit of dust and rock began to fall in front of them.

"Man, I seriously hope this place isn't going to cave in on us."

Given how they ended up in these caves to begin with, it was not outside the realm of possibility that the ceilings were beginning to crumble apart. That however would pose another big problem for the two as the rubble would either crush them if they weren't fast enough, or it would trap them inside.

with this in mind, the pair were motivated to move more quickly than they had been.

However....

"?!"

Something else would be blocking their path entirely.

Dropping down from the ceiling above was an  tall, alien-looking creature that was brown in coloration with glowing red eyes.

Its body was appeared to have the torso of a humanoid with two long arms, each having claws resembling that of a scorpion or lobster's, a lower body that seemed to belong to that of an arachnid, and a long prehensile tail with a sharp object attached to its end.

What made the creature more horrifying is that beyond its seemingly humanoid facial features, it had a huge mouth that displayed multiple rows of teeth all over the inside of its mouth and two pairs of horns on top of its hairless head.

"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅――!!!"

The atrocity made a loud sound that no human could ever recreate, causing the pair to shield their ears.

Completely startled by this creature's sudden appearance, Shizuki fell onto his bottom and backed away by a foot.

"W-W-What the hell is that?!?!"

"T-That's a scary monster desu..!"

The pink haired girl quivered out while staring at the creature. She didn't appear to be as startled as Tsukamoto, but still found the monster's appearance to be unsettling all the same.

A certain tail stood up from behind that creature.

And like a jaguar pouncing on its prey, the tail shot out at Compa to strike her with its sharp end.

"Compa-san!"

Without thinking, the boy jumped to his feet and pushed his friend out of the way, but...

"Kuahhhh――!" The stinger had struck Tsukamoto, grazing his back in the process and tearing across the back of his school uniform jacket.

"Shizu-kun!"

"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅――!!!"

The abomination let out a loud sound as its tail retracted from the area it struck and stood up again, preparing for another go.

And without another moment's hesitation, the tail moved again only this time, it instead, wrapped around the pink haired girl and lifted her up off the ground.

"Waaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!! Help meeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

"Compa-san! Hey, get your grubby little ha- er, tail off of her you discount Xenomorph!"

The youth demanded of the thing, while pointing his wooden sword at it. The gesture however, caused him to wince in pain from the cut he received on his back.

("I should probably take care of that first... but if I do use my regeneration, she might get suspicious.")

Shizuki had not told Compa about his abilities, when explaining his circumstances for appearing here.

The reason was obvious.

He did not know if there were any 'Gifted' people like himself in this world much like those back on earth, but he was not going to risk it. The girl who pulled him from that circle. The girl who treated his injuries and the only person he knows in this world so far.

 He had only known her for at best an hour, but he could already tell that she was a kind hearted person. Perhaps too kind.

But then again, there were those in his life who appeared almost as kind as she was, yet in the end, they turned on him.

Because he was not one of them.

Because he was different from them, people who claimed to be his friends turned on him and abandoned him when he needed them.

He felt like he had a chance to start over from zero in this new world he was brought into, leaving the turmoil he suffered from back on earth. If the only person whom he may have made a genuine friendship with in a long time found out that he was not human..

No. No way was he going to compromise his second chance. No way was he ever going to endure that kind of pain again.

"Help mee Shizu-kuunnnn――!"

("Gah! I can worry about that later!")

Having been pulled out of his musings by his friend's perilous screams, Tsukamoto closed his eyes several seconds and a faint azure light appeared on the wound on his back, slowly repairing the skin tissue.

"Hang on, Compa-san! I'll get you down from there some how!"

The youth assumed a stance, readying his weapon. The idea of facing a horrific Cave Dweller was terrifying him, but at the same time, he couldn't just turn tails and run away.

The girl recovered, treated him, and even offered him residence in her home despite being total strangers. To run away now would be paramount to throwing away her kindness. He had to save her. It was the least he could do.

The boy took a deep breath as he closed his eyes.

And within the net two seconds, his eyes opened as he sprinted at full speed toward the Cave Dweller and his weapon quickly moved in to connect with the atrocity.

A series of attacks were made as Tsukamoto repeatedly struck the beast with his sword, with as much speed and force as his mortal body could muster.

No part of the monster's lower body was spared as the sword connected with every part of the front lower body in an unrelenting flurry. After a good minute or repeatedly wailing on the thing, the youth finally stopped to catch his breath. However...

"...Hah?"

The attack had not damaged the creature. Not even a single one.

"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅――!!!"

In a sound of annoyance, the Cave Dweller made a single swipe with its long right arm and knocked him back into a wall, hitting his self repairing wound  on it.

"Gaaahh――!!"

"Shizu-kun!"

Cried out Compa, feeling the tail wrapped around her get tighter.

*HISS*

"Kuh... right back at you, smiles."

wincing from his wound and the impact in general, Tsukamoto slowly lifted himself up and glared at the creature. The damn thing was too strong. what would have bludgeoned a normal guy's face if they stood still, did absolutely nothing to the abomination.

("What now? I hit him as hard as I could and there's not even a scratch on that thing!")

And just when he was about to decide on his next action, the creature hacked up and spit out an unknown substance from its huge mouth.

("Shit!")

The youth instinctively jumped over to the left and landed on his side, narrowly dodging the fluid.

Said fluid had then begun to corrode and eat away at the ground where Shizuki was once at.

"Acid?! Really?!"

"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅――!!!"

He was not going to keep this up for much longer. No matter what he did, his attacks wouldn't hurt the creature, its tail was gripping the pink haired girl tightly, and it has shown it being able to spit out corrosive acid from a good distance.

The Cave Dweller was proving to be even more dangerous by the minute, and that was not going to change if he did not do something quick.

("Crap... I can't do anything in this situation! I'm as helpless as I was back with those thugs!")

The blue haired youth grimaced at his own powerlessness of this situation. He wanted to save the girl in front of him, but he was not strong enough to do it. It was the night in the alley way all over again. Unable to truly do anything in the end.

("If only there was something I could use...! Unless...")

There was something. Aside from his healing ability, Shizuki had another power that could possibly turn the tide in this situation. But...

It is something that he would never dare to utilize in any circumstance under sheer principle. It was an ability so awful, not even this atrocity deserves to suffer under it.

("No... I can't use that! I absolutely won't use that horrible thing!! But...")

Tsukamoto looked up at Compa who was struggling to breath from the Cave Dweller's Grasp. If this continued any longer, she will eventually be crushed.

He shut his eyes tightly, his body and hands trembling as they tightly held the wooden weapon.

"Damn it...!"

Just as he was about to give in, just as he was about to give in and go through with using that power, something unbelievable happened.

Three small silver streaks flew past Shizuki, and lodged themselves into the creature in three different spots.

The lower body.

The upper body's stomach.

And the creature's left eye.

And in that same instance...

*BOOM!*

Each of the three daggers exploded, causing the Cave Dweller to let out a horrific shriek and drop its hostage from its tail.

"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅――!!!"

"Wha――?!"

He barely even had a chance to react to this sudden turn of events, as a blue streak flew past him with great speed, snatched up Compa from where she had fallen and made a U-turn back toward his direction and grabbed him as well.

"Woaaahhh...!"

He was moving at speeds that no ordinary human could run at, being carried by a person he had never seen before.

From his angle, he could tell that it was a girl with long brown hair, wearing some kind of blue overcoat, but he could not see her face.

"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅――!!!"

Tsukamoto heard the Cave Dweller's demented cries as multiple foot steps were drawing closer from the end of the cave they ere being carried from. Some how, the atrocity had survived those exploding daggers and became pissed off as a result.

"Hey, we're almost out of here, so just hang on a bit longer."

The newcomer spoke for the first time, likely trying to reassure him after noticing his reaction to the threat that was approaching.

As they continued to be mobile, a bright light suddenly shone from ahead of them. They were rapidly approaching the exit of the dark cavern they were trapped in.

After emerging from the darkness, the girl in blue dropped off Shizuki and the semi-conscious Compa and spun around to face the cave entrance.  

With two quick strokes, the stranger threw two daggers at the ceiling of the cave and exploded within seconds, causing the rubble to fall on top of the Cave Dweller that was right behind them.

The creature was crushed and everyone was saved.

"Phew, that was cutting it close... are you two alright?"

The savior asked the pair, wiping her forehead.

"Other than a few scraps and loosing a few years off my life? Yeah, just fine."

"I'm fine too desu..."

A certain pink haired nurse muttered weakly as she sat up.

"That's good to hear. If  you hadn't texted me when you did, you would've been goners..."

"Thanks for saving our butts back there. I was almost going to- wait, text?"

Tsukamoto tilted his head slightly to the right in confusion. He felt as if he was missing something.

"Oh! While we were walking in that cave, I texted Iffy to come find us if we couldn't find away out."

Compa exclaimed, before taking out a pink cell phone and showed him a text message she had recently sent.

It read:

From: Compa Loveheart

To: IF

Sub: Trapped in weird cave with Shizu-kun. Trying to find a way out. Come find us if we can't get out desu!

"Oh. That makes sense... but how'd you find us?"

"Our phones have an app that let's us track our friend's movements. It's kinda neat."

The girl in blue explained.

"I see. So I guess you're one of Compa-san's friends?"

"Mhm, the name's IF. Nice to meet you."

The girl called IF gave him a friendly smile as she introduced herself. Shizuki returned the gesture with a smile on his own, holding his hand out to shake.

"I'm Shizuki. Tsukamoto... Shi..."

A dizzying sensation suddenly rushed over him. The world began to twist and turn in many direction, and his body became hot.

Eventually, he could not stand anymore and his body fell face first onto the ground.

"H-Hey!"

"Shizu-kun!"

Two voices called out to him, but they could not be heard. By that time, a certain blue haired youth had fallen unconscious from something overlooked.

On his back was a gash that had already closed up halfway, leaving a small wound that had begun to turn into a faint black color.

It had not immediately kicked in when it happened, but a toxin of some kind was injected into his body when the Cave Dweller struck him with its tail.

The world had gone silent for Tsukamoto Shizuki and everything was replaced with blackness.

Episode 1:

Welcome to Gamindustri