Sorry this chapter is a bit late, I was at my dad's this weekend as I hadn't seen him in a while and he currently doesn't have internet so I wasn't able to finish or post this.

Hope you all enjoy it nevertheless!

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Chapter 3:

Mary didn't know what sin she had committed that the world would just play one cruel joke after the other on her.

He was sitting right next to her and it was clear now that he was a Yokai just like her but she still couldn't make sense of the baseless fear she felt just by being near him.

It was like his presence alone spelled terror and doom for her.

Trying her best to keep the shaking of her hands under control she stared outside through the window to her left and watched the world fly by, not daring to even glance his way.

It was a relief for her that he never talked or tried anything else so after a few minutes she was able to calm down and suppress the fear while occasionally giving him a look out of the corner of her eye.

Even though he was quite frightening she felt a bit curious as to what kind of face hid beneath that deep hood.

Mary couldn't help but have a little girly moment as she wondered if he would be handsome or not before shaking her head mentally as it didn't really matter at all to her and he wasn't someone she would like to associate in any way to begin with.

The silence in the bus was stifling as not a single person dared to speak after he had entered the bus.

Just from that it was clear that not only she felt an unknown fear towards this rather mysterious classmate.

Could it be that he was a Yokai that had powers that were linked with illusion or mind manipulation?

It was said that those people had quite a frightening aura and her father had warned her many times to stay away from Yokai like that as they could even make others fall in love with them and use them in various ways.

Still deep in thought a voice over the speakers and presumably the bus driver making an announcement allowed her mind to return to reality.

"Alright everyone, we are not that far away from the gate anymore and I know you have a lot of questions but they will all be answered when we arrive. I would like to take this time to congratulate you all and formally welcome you into Yokai Academy! I would also like you all to put on your seatbelts please as the transfer is quite difficult and dangerous otherwise. They will help you keep your cellular structure easier as this kind of passing through is something quite tricky without them."

Listening to the rather casual way he had said that, Mary felt a cold shiver running down her back.

Didn't that practically mean that they could die if they didn't put the seatbelts on?

Not daring to take any chances, Mary immediately grabbed beside her left side and made sure to fix the belt around her hip tightly.

She felt quite nervous not knowing what would happen and couldn't help but glance around, only to notice something that worried her.

He hadn't put on the seatbelt like all the others inside the bus and instead just sat there unmoving.

It couldn't be that he wanted to act cool and not put on the seatbelt right? No one was that stupid, or at least she hoped so.

Hesitating for a few minutes as she just didn't have it inside her to ask him why, Mary in the end decided to keep quiet and tried to forget about it.

It wasn't her fault in the end if he got hurt as they had all clearly been warned.

Trying to convince herself with this reasoning while ignoring the guilt deep in her intestines she stoically looked ahead.

Soon enough the voice of the bus driver echoed inside the bus once again.

"Alright everyone, prepare for the transfer!"

She could clearly see the concrete wall of a dead-end rushing towards them in the windshield of the bus and gripped the sides of her school uniform tightly as the front of the vehicle connected with the wall.

In but a moment they were through and she let go of her clothes, her mouth wide open in awe.

No matter which window she looked through they showed the same surreal scene of whirling and ever changing clouds.

They shined in all colors of the rainbow and seemed to stretch endlessly into nothingness, the only thing convincing her that this wasn't just a dream was the very real interior of the bus as well as the presence of her future class and schoolmates.

It took her a while to take it all in before she once again remembered that he was sitting beside her and was also the only one not wearing a seatbelt.

Somewhat worried that her staying quiet could have harmed the guy she looked to her left only to be shocked speechless.

He still sat there as still as a statue but unlike before his body seemed to be somewhat faded at the edges and even slightly translucent with random colors appearing and disappearing inside of him, similar to how the colorful clouds outside the bus behaved.

Her mind went blank and she couldn't even alert anybody else of this anomaly as no air entered her lungs.

Unable to look away she watched him stare at his own hands.

Absolute terror filled her being as she saw his right hand slowly disappearing, first the skin, then the muscles and flesh and last but not least the bone too .

Seeing up close how each and every layer of a hand gruesomely disintegrated in a cloud of particles she no longer could help it as she screamed her lungs out so that someone would wake her from this dreadful nightmare.

Her mind escaped the situation and only a single thought was present in her skull.

This is my fault! This is my fault! THIS IS MY FAULT!

…..

Charlie couldn't help but still feel a little bit of awe for the things around him even though he had seen it many times.

As one of the bus drivers of the school he had quite a lot of experience and also saw many things in his life but not much could compare with this bizarre place that they were floating through until they would gradually be pulled towards the Academy.

He really admired the principle as he had been the one creating a school in this void.

Needless to say it took a lot of courage for such a bold idea to pass in the minds of ordinary Yokai but he had achieved exactly that.

Not only was he strong beyond believe but he never abused his powers to bully those weaker than others and treated all Yokai equally so Charlie's admiration was understandable.

Still deep in thought a sudden ear shattering scream behind him nearly made him jump out of his seat.

Quite alarmed he looked back.

One of the new students had become slightly translucent and showed the same color variety of the clouds outside.

It didn't take long for him to connect the dots but he didn't dare believe it at first.

Because if he did, it meant that he was quite literally bringing a monster to the Academy.

After about 2 seconds he hurriedly stood up and rushed to the middle of the bus.

Charlie didn't really have to worry that they would crash into something as they were floating in an empty void to begin with and the process was automatic each time.

Finally arriving next to the boy he watched part of his leg dissipate in a cloud of particles before once again restructuring itself, looking less real and more dreamlike afterwards.

With a shudder he didn't dare waste time and quickly put the matter solidifying seatbelt around his waist.

Right away the boy's body returned to a solid form and Charlie this time turned to calm down the still screaming girl right next to him.

He could feel the eyes of nearly all students resting on him as he managed to finally stop her from screaming her lungs out.

Wiping some sweat from his forehead he once again looked towards the boy that was now wearing his seatbelt with an inner shudder.

"I only ever heard of monstrously strong Yokai being able to safely stay in this place without a seatbelt, that a new student is able to do the same is... something else for sure."

Charlie whispered, more to himself than anyone else but in the complete silence his words easily reached the ears of others.

Giving the non responsive hood another look he turned around while ignoring the waves of fear that still emanated towards him from the boy's body.

He would have to be mentally handicapped to not realize what this boy really was at this point.

…..

The moment he wore the seatbelt his mind cleared up and the bus returned to being solid.

With a somewhat bewildered look he examined his own hands and then glanced at the shocked bus driver.

His mind was finally back to reality and a cold shudder ran through his bones as he realized what really just happened.

Ze had been moments from disintegrating into nothingness and only this seatbelt was what saved his life.

Completely in a daze he didn't even notice that the bus driver once again left and only after feeling a tug on his left arm did his mind return to reality.

"A-Are you alright?"

It took him a moment to take in the whole picture as he looked at the girl that was sitting next to him.

Her twin tails and hair were messy, a clear stream of tears still ran down her cheeks and together with the fearful as well as concerned look on her face it made for a scene he had never seen before.

Pausing for a moment he nodded his head and couldn't help but have a strange feeling in his stomach when he saw the smile of relief that she showed him.

Ze knew she was a Yokai, he knew that he was not like any of the others on this bus but the way she had just looked at him... wasn't like how he had expected these 'monsters' to be.

Unsure what to say the girl stayed silent while still looking at him, seemingly in thought.

Not really in the mood to start up a conversation at the moment as he was still insecure about his current situation and had to get his mind back in order after the shock he just received, Ze remained silent too.

Another five minutes of floating in the vast, colorful emptiness later a shaking went through the entire vehicle before they passed through a transparent barrier and a new sight surrounded them.

They were driving on a dirt road with deep green grassy hills on both sides.

Trees sprinkled the surroundings and it wasn't far off to calling this the entrance of a forest.

Bright rays of sunlight broke through the cluster of branches above them, giving everything a rather mysterious atmosphere.

They continued to drive for a few more minutes before a clearing appeared in the trees and the road grew wider.

Together with the voice of the bus driver that was resounding through the speakers they finally saw it.

"Once again I welcome you to Vandech Academy or simply called, Yokai Academy!"

They passed an open metal gate with gigantic stone statues of all kinds of mythical creatures filling up the top of the stone wall that seemed to stretch out infinitely far.

Somewhat similar to a Manor the main building had about 4 floors and was quite a big structure.

Ze was able to see multiple other wooden as well as stone buildings off In the distance together with a track for short distance running and a barren field with two metal goals similar to the ones you see in football but there was a big difference as the entire field was not flat but filled with all kinds of obstacles like stone towers or walls that gave off the feeling of a maze.

Multiple busses were already lined up at the entrance of the main building and a flood of students stood outside, waiting for their turn to enter.

Seeing so many of them, all with different ages, skin and hair colors as well as features, Ze couldn't help but nervously swallow.

They looked human enough but he wasn't going to escape reality again and pretend that he was clueless.

It was clear to him now that he was at a school with literally thousands of teenager Yokais, a truly terrifying thought.

Even before entering the school he had nearly lost his life by not paying attention so Ze from this moment forth vowed to always listen closely to someone if they talked.

At the same time he also promised himself that he would find a way to get out of this mess alive, no matter the cost.

That was something he was adamant about, he would leave this possible death trap alive no matter what, even just so he could get angry at his father for nealry killing him by sending him to this academy... or so he could at least see his dad ever again...

Trying his best to rid himself of these depressing thoughts and concentrate on the here and now he turned to his left and saw a rather excited expression that turned a little stiff when he looked at the girl beside him but no longer could he see the same fear in her eyes which definitely was a plus.

Standing up with all the other students, he wanted to leave the bus but to his surprise the other people around him stayed standing in their seats while looking at him, clearly creating a corridor.

It didn't take long for him to understand as to why and with a smile he made his way through the bus.

While Ze passed the many faces of his future classmates a sudden thought entered his mind.

Through a number of coincidences and misunderstandings he had planted seeds of fear into the surrounding students and they viewed him as some kind of monster even within all the other Yokais... couldn't he use this to his advantage or at least so he would stay safe?

Fear was a powerful deterrent after all and would keep quite a lot of hot blooded young Yokais off his back.

Wouldn't it be best if he played the role of the mysterious and unpredictable all powerful Yokai for as long as he could?

After all, people feared what they didn't know.

Feeling a slight smile appear on his face and an inkling of an idea as to how he could make it out of this monster school alive, Ze stepped onto the fresh soil of a different world for the first time, breathed in the fresh air while turning his gleaming eyes beneath is hood to the Yokais swarming all around him.

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And there we go, with this I think many will unerstand the kind of setting as well as story I wanted to create ^^.

As always if you find any mistakes let me know!

PS: Amazing Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvvO-ndDLVE

Abbadon out!