Chapter 3: Podium
"Lis-"
"List-"
"Listen!" The boy said.
"I will never give up! Never!" The boy said firmly in Takeuchi's ear.
"So you should never give up too!" The boy's black figure shouted.
I remember...
It was when I was in middle school...
There was this boy...
He had been beaten up badly...
I don't remember why, but when I looked at him, I thought he was strong...
I was amazed by him and even more because I wanted to become like him...
Yeah, just like him...
What I wanted was...
To roam the world...
And see it with my own eyes...
To stand...
Stand on my own two feet...
....
....
Takeuchi fell.
Like falling into the ocean, he was getting drowned.
He couldn't move upward as he felt something pulling him down into the deep of the ocean.
Damn it!... Takeuchi cursed, but he soon shut his mouth up, feeling suffocated.
....
Feeling like there was no air in his lungs, he desperately gasped for breath.
....
Where am I?
....
His chest felt tight, so he tried to breathe, gasping and then he was coughing a few times because of the tightness in his chest.
After a while, he stopped coughing and slowly opened his eyes.
Podium.
The podium was the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes.
Where am I? College?... Takeuchi asked himself.
After catching his breath, he looked around and noticed that he was alone.
It took him a moment to realize that he was sitting on one of the long chairs commonly used in college lecture halls.
The long chairs were divided into two lines and arranged in rows along the length of the room, with a podium in the center and front of the room.
It was arranged so that the audience could sit in the long chairs and listen to the person who spoke at the podium.
Looking down, he saw no whiteboard as one would expect in a college lecture hall.
Instead, the stage had a podium, with an emblem-shaped shield positioned behind it.
The shield had a tower on top, with two moons at the peak.
Am I dreaming? Where am I?... Takeuchi thought, confused and traumatized.
"Damn it," He cursed.
Oh yeah, where is she? Is she not here with me?... Takeuchi thought, worried.
Despite the dim light emanating from the lamp shape of crystal on the ceiling, he searched the room but found no one else around.
Whatever, in this situation, maybe it was good that she didn't come here with me... He thought, reassuring himself.
Recovering, he tried to stand up, but suddenly, a zipping sound resonated through the room.
He was startled by the abrupt sound and quickly turned around to see a shadowy figure sitting in one of the chairs, much like him.
If that was a ghost, I would kick and punch it... Takeuchi thought as he prepared himself for the worst.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, the shadowy figure began gasping for air and coughing repeatedly. After a moment, he realized that it wasn't a ghost.
"Wha-" He began to mutter in shock.
Ziiip! Ziiip! Ziiip!
His sentence was cut short by a series of rapid zipping noises that filled the room.
Confused by what was happening, he decided to take a closer look at the shadowy figure.
That body shape, I wonder where I saw it... Takeuchi thought, somehow recognizing the figure.
After the zipping sound subdued, it took him a moment to realize that they were all his classmates.
"What?!"
No, it can't be! How is it possible?... Takeuchi thought, shocked.
Takeuchi was shocked that they were all his classmates, even after a while, when he took a seat on one of the long chairs.
It looked like we were sinking into this room, but how could that happen?! Is it all because of the dark mist?... Takeuchi thought, wondering to himself.
Hoping someone would give him an explanation.
After recognizing each other, they gathered around the podium to make themselves comfortable.
And just like that, Takeuchi was sitting on one of the room's long benches.
I'm not going to lie. It was comfortable... Takeuchi thought.
"What happened?" Takeuchi asked, breaking the silence.
Surely, something led them here. I want to make sure we are on the same page in this situation... Takeuchi thought.
"I don't know," a young man with a charismatic voice replied shortly, looking confused about their situation.
Pairs of lamp crystal were the only light sources in the room, although it was shining with the dim light, the pairs of it made the rooms bright.
Standing behind the podium was a handsome young man's figure.
He was wearing the same uniform as Takeuchi.
From his looks, you can tell he was a kind person.
He was medium height, with spike black short hair and the posture you see in athletes.
He seemed slightly shocked by the situation but recovered quickly.
Yoshihama... Takeuchi thought, calling him out.
Yoshihama Kyoshi was his classmate, and with a handsome face, he was quite popular with the girls.
Takeuchi remembered that he was joining a soccer club and became popular in school.
Takeuchi doesn't get close to him that much, but he still can recognize him.
"We were in the restaurant earlier, but suddenly, the light went out. When I tried to move, I realized that our bodies were frozen. And then we started sinking to the ground. When I woke up, I was here," Yoshihama explained, still relaxed despite what had happened.
"We were a little different. When I was walking home with Nagata after our student council meeting. The light in the hallway was blinking, but it didn't go off. When I tried to walk again, I discovered my body couldn't move. We were frozen in time, and a dark mist appeared on the floor from nowhere after a while. We were pulled by it, and when I woke up, I was here," another male voice chimes in, explaining his experience.
Takeuchi looked at the source of the voice.
He was sitting on one of the long benches like him.
Takeuchi saw a young man wearing a high school uniform, just like him.
He was wearing glasses on his face, with short, neat black hair and a medium body.
He usually had a straight posture that made you think he would punish you.
His name was Nakahara Hideaki, and he was also in his class.
And a member of the student council.
He was pretty strict, just like his appearance.
That was the reason why Takeuchi didn't like getting close to him.
One day, when Takeuchi was late assembling his homework, Nakahara somehow helped him deliver it.
That changed the way he saw Takeuchi.
"I'm not done with my drink yet, damn it!" another male voice shouted as he banged on the table in front of him.
Sitting couples upstairs from Takeuchi was a young man with an athletic body and a street punk-like haircut.
His name was Uchimura Tatsui, and he had a great spirit and a strong body.
He was once a champion who represented the running club in a tournament in his second year.
He still wore a uniform like Takeuchi, and Takeuchi wondered why he wasn't punished for that haircut, but apparently, he didn't break any rules.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone