Chapter 12: Night Class

Chapter 12:
Night Class

 

SNEAKING INTO SCHOOL at midnight was trickier than Toji and Asuka had anticipated. A sleepy Aoba had to teach them how to get into the school without alerting the security company.

Once they were inside, however, Asuka raised her voice. “Come on out, Shinji! We don’t got all night!”

“Soryu!” Toji exclaimed. “I know it’s night and all, but he’s not a ghost. He didn’t show up the last time you carried the entry plug in here, did he?”

“No, and it’s a good thing, too. The BLS Layer would’ve kept the science and engineering staff out of here.”

“You really put them through hell.”

They reached the classroom after an uneventful walk.

“You don’t expect me to lug this thing by myself, do you?” Asuka tapped the entry plug in the middle of the classroom. “See? Nothing. Should I turn on the lights?”

“Don’t bother. The moon’s annoyingly bright lately.”

“I mean, it’s sucked most of the Earth’s landmass and is only 110,000 kilometers away from us at this point.”

“Look, Shinji. The moon is so beautiful tonight!” Asuka pointed out the open window. Immediately, her long T-shirt and hotpants dissolved and were replaced with the black uniform.

There’s the BLS Layer!

“The transformation looks like something out of a magical girl anime.”

“You watch those things?”

“Look…”

<<His sister loved that stuff.>>

They both recognized the voice and immediately turned.

“Kensuke…?!”

A shade resembling Kensuke sat at his desk, looking exhausted.

“You know, when they were kids.”

Six was right. Shinji can summon anyone he thinks would fit into the dream, even those who are far away.

Toji had never seen anyone this blurry before, however. Perhaps something was happening on Kensuke’s end.

“Aida…?”

“Hold on, Soryu. Kensuke, where are you now?”

“I was in Germany, but now… Things are bad here, Toji.”

“Does it have to do with Armaros?”

“So, you’re aware. Those final moments happened so fast. Darkness spread all over that white body, over Horaki and Heurtebise. They’ve become Armaros.”

Toji slammed the table. “What?!”