Step by step, the blur of their messy movements blended into the otherwise still air, as the duo forged their path towards the exit of the school as discreetly as possible. It was far from their mutual intentions to be caught skipping, among other things. Takane found herself not only doubting the hooded boy, but her own acumen and street-smarts to be willingly trailing after the teen to begin with.

Sure, he was Ayano's brother and all, but for all she knew, she could have gotten assailed the moment they left school grounds—or worse.

Credibility, my ass. The more I see that shit-eating grin of his, the more endangered I feel...

It was too late to turn back, for they were mere feet away from the main doors. If Takane had to be honest, she was in no physical condition to fight back should anything sinister happen the second she stepped foot outside. After the clutter of events near the bathroom, the limited energy she had coursing through her veins was naturally reserved for her one true love: games.

Even treading down the stairs was enough of a chore. Though, the blonde beside her seemed satisfied enough to descend with a noticeable pep in his step. The gamer girl simply cocked an eyebrow at the sight, and her gaze met with golden hues in a matter of seconds when the shorter of the two decided to turn her way.

"Say, Takane. Are you always this crabby, or is it just me~?" He questioned rather playfully, while keeping his voice hushed in fear of being heard by neighboring classrooms.

The girl stared blankly at him in return, her voice just as faint. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I feel like you've been glaring daggers at me for the past few minutes. Oh, woe is me! I haven't even done anything wrong yet."

Yet. She begged to differ, but instead went along with it. "Excuse me? This is how I normally look..." Takane bitterly muttered, her supposed 'glare' intensifying at the blonde.

Kano merely nodded in understanding, before a stream of air swept past both their faces as the boy pushed open the front doors towards the freedom outside. "So, you must be one of those people with resting bitch faces! Interesting," he commented shortly afterwards, casually stepping foot on the pavement as if he wasn't straying from school grounds at all.

Maybe the 'resting bitch face' he spoke of was menacing enough to deter people away. How fortunate.

If it weren't for the plethora of pink clouds clustered around slender branches, Takane would have already forgotten that was only April. The muted champagne pink of cherry blossoms made it evident that it was only the start of the school year, and yet, here she was not giving much of a damn for her studies. At least she wasn't alone.

She shielded her eyes from the sun with her beige-sleeved arm as her gaze shifted about their surroundings, spotting a dark green tracksuit amidst the lush blades of grass and dainty specks of tinted petals that flickered in the breeze. The figure had their back facing the duo, and if it weren't for their massive height, the crouching tracksuit would have blended in perfectly with the rest of the spring scenery.

Kano must have noticed it too, for he immediately sprinted shouting, "Kousuke! Yo, Kousuke—!"

She was almost about to applaud his skill to run in boots when any attempt of discreet secrecy was hurled out the window the moment the hooded adolescent slipped on some scattered blossoms, ramming into the boy called 'Kousuke' right when he'd turned around.

Her natural exasperation temporarily ebbed away, stifling a laugh at the rather amusing sight. Takane ambled towards them as they gradually recovered from the collision, with Kano sitting back on the grass groaning and the taller teenager rubbing his sides and any other potential sore spots, before receding back into his original crouching position.

Taking a seat on the prolific grass beside them, she almost sat cross-legged under the protection of the cherry blossom tree when she realized that she was wearing a skirt, which would have been unsightly even if she wore short black leggings underneath. Opting to hug her knees instead, she finally got a closer look at this 'Kousuke' that Kano seemed so fond of.

She made note of his raven hair and hazel eyes, but the feature that caught her eye the most was in fact, the yellow clip in his hair, nearly concealed by the hood of his suit. Again, he looked nothing like Kano nor Ayano, which caused Takane to doubt that this was the 'goody two-shoes' brother that the blonde mentioned earlier. Maybe it was a friend?

After an instant of near-silence accompanied by the dancing wind and flitting birds, the black-haired male finally spoke up, with a subtle frown, at that. "Haa... Look at what you've done, Shuuya. You scared away the squirrels! Please watch where you're going next time."

"You act as though I can control skidding on those stupid petals, you animal enthusiast," Kano huffed. "The least you can do is show some concern for your brother."

It appeared that her assumption of their relation was quickly proven wrong, but in her defense, it wasn't everyday when she encountered a family that comprised of so many adopted children.

Ah, so this must be 'Seto'...

"Hm, but you seem perfectly fine. Are you really hurt? It's better for you to have hit something, so you can't use that ability to play tricks on me, anyways." He softly chuckled in return.

Kano rested a hand on his chest, his eyes widening in mock-surprise. "H-Huh? How cold of you, Kousuke! Don't you mean that it's better for you? Depriving a prankster of his resources..! Can't you show any remorse?"

"I jest, I jest. Well, mostly. In any case, I can't see any scenario where I would benefit from being rammed into, Shuuya. Can't you show any remorse for the animals? At this rate, they won't be coming back for the next little while."

Takane was easily beginning to feel like a third-wheel and out of place amidst their brotherly bickering, though the hazel-eyed boy noticed first, glancing over at her with a genuinely friendly smile. He ceased the petty quarrel in preference of properly introducing himself.

"A-Ahem. Anyways, I see that you've brought along a friend, Shuuya! You're Ayano's friend, right? It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss. My name is Seto Kousuke."

"Enomoto Takane, and yeah, same to you, I guess... I never knew that Ayano had so many siblings," she quietly admitted, before shaking hands with him.

After further inspection, Seto almost looked like the type of person that would be fun to tease, judging by his demeanor, but of course, she would never confess that aloud. A compassionate and polite kid, which proved to be a sharp contrast to his brother.

"So, what brings you here, Miss Enomoto?"

Why was she here, again?

Right, I need to ask about that stunt Kano pulled...

Before she could answer him, Kano took the liberty of doing it in her stead. "I might have slipped up, in more ways than one. She saw the ability, Kousuke. So, I thought we'd just recruit her to the gang—I mean, we need a larger sample size anyways, don't we?"

Wait, did I mishear him? Did he just say gang? Sample size? What the hell does this mean?!

Takane stared at him in a futile attempt to gauge his motivations through his suddenly neutral, if not serious expression, for she had utterly no clue what he was talking about. If anything, she needed a lot more explaining to satisfy her brimming curiosities and fears; the discussion sounded awfully dubious without proper context.

"Oh, I see. I suppose you're right about that, Shuuya. In that case, I'm sure we'd all be glad to have Miss Enomoto on board," Seto bobbed his head in agreement.

Having had enough of being left in the dark, her bubble finally burst, and her countenance contorted into a slight glower. "Kano, Seto—for the love of God, can you please tell me what's going on already?!"

"Ah, what a scary scowl, Takane! But of course, we're just getting to the good part! I'll oblige and tell you exactly what's going on." The blonde laughed, rummaging through his pockets before revealing a pair of dice.

The cubes were almost pitch-black, adorned with bright red dots as pips. The longer she scrutinized the dice, the more she thought that they resembled the unnerving eyes of treacherous snakes, for the crimson hues peered into her soul.

Hello, readers!

I will try to make this author's note as concise as I can. From this chapter onward, the 'semi-AU' part of the fanfiction will start kicking in with the mention of dice, and the original Kagerou Project concepts will crossover with those from DICE. Hopefully the story hasn't been too confusing thus far! I strive to expand on it more in the later chapters, and perhaps we'll see the main plot in action soon.

I love using Takane as a protagonist, but I know I still have more work in regards to mastering her character. I appreciate your patience and support, and I really hope you all stay tuned for future updates. Now that we have the addition of Kano and Seto to our cast, we'll surely see more of the others in due time! Again, you have my utmost gratitude for reading.

Thank you,

Levy (@remrins)