This is the World We Live In

The day was rather an average day for the City of Kyoto. The sky was clear with only a cloud or two in its pressence, the people were commuting from place to place with little to no problem, and Kasumi High was as busy as always. One individual strutted through the halls at a very causal pace. He looked like he was in his own little world due to the fact that he was wearing headphones and was listening to music at an incredibly high volume, possibly dubstep.

However, this was interfered when he bumped into two random guys. These guys were tough by the looks of them and wouldn't hesitate to throttle someone if they wanted to. The two guys turned around and faced the particular individual, glaring at him rather harshly.

"Hey dumbass! Pay attention to where you're walkin," one of them said.

"Yeah! Or you'll end up with a fist in your face," the other one said in a desperate attempt to sound tough.

The individual took off his headphones which made the two grin, hoping that he got the message. To their dismay however, the individual only tilted his head and gave them a clueless look.

"Wha- Sorry, I didn't hear you. Would you gentlemen repeat that?"

The two became even more infuriated, growling at him.

"I SAID YOU NEED TO PAY ATTENTION DUMBASS!"

"YEAH! OR YOU'LL BE IN A WORLD OF HURT!"

This lone student got the message, claping his hands together and closing his eyes. The two students looked at him in a funny way.

"Guys, I know that whatever I did must have angered you greatly..."

"WE'RE NOT AN-"

"...And I know you guys want to throttle me..."

"HEY! DON'T INTERRU-"

"...But I suggest that you guys need to take a deep breath and count to ten. Then we can laugh about this whole thing and sing campire songs by a campfire," the individual finished with some interruption.

This attempt at a peaceful negotiation had failed, with the two men still being angry. The individual sighed as he slouched over in disapointment. One of them grabbed the student by the collar of his shirt while cocking his arm back, readying for a good hard punch in the face.

"You're gonna get it now!" the guy said as he made a full attempt to punch him. Then, as if out of no where, another fist came and slammed into the guy's face, releasing his grip on the individual. The other one, shocked on how did it, charged at the culprit. This was also in vain, for he also was sent flying. The person behind it turned towards the lone student, looking at him with an irritated scowl on his face.

"Wow Kiba! That was a nice punch, but next time, try to perform an uppercut! The-"

"You're a dumbass, you know that," Kiba interrupted as he offered his hand to the lone student.

"Kiiiibaaaaa. My name's Joshua. Why does everyone call me dumbass," the individual whined as he straightened out his collar. The two students walked together, having one of their usual conversations. Their short journey came to a dead stop at a door.

"Man, another day at school. I wish there were some days off. One for Saturday and one for Sunday."

"You mean like in the U.S.?"

"Yeah! THAT WOULD BE SO BALLIN RIGHT NOW," Kiba cheered energeticly. Joshua chuckled as he opened the door, allowing them both to enter. The room consisted of about twenty students, with some by themselves and others in their own groups. The duo proceeded to their seats, which just so happened to be right next to each other. Kiba looked at a group of girls, tapping his desk to grab his friend's attention.

"Hey Josh! Look at the babes over there. They're looking pretty fine," he said, causing his friend to facepalm.

"Kiba, you've been checking those girls out ever since the first day. You know they're only interested in guys that are from sports like Kendo and American Football."

"Oh come on. You're just saying that because you can't get any."

"But Kiiibaaa! It's both common knowledge and common sense."

A guy with a mid ponytail went up between them, having an aura of incredible swagger flowing throughout him.

"But you know what's even more common sense, tapping that."

The duo turned around to see who was behind them, only to sigh in disapointment.

"Well, how 'bout you go and do it?"

"And get my sorry ass kicked? That won't get me nowhere Kibbles."

"Dammit Sora! I told you not to call me that."

"Codenames Kibbles, codenames,"

"Ugh! Do I have to?"

"You know you like them."

'Pfft! Whatever..."

Before the conversation could go on any longer, the bell rang, letting the students know that class is in session.

The day passed by rather fast, the trio had lunch on a rooftop, Kiba managed to dominate at dodgeball...yet again, Sora was slapped across the face during Biology class, and Joshua...was just being Joshua. As the school day ended, Joshua opened his locker. He scanned inside for what seemed to be a certain item. His eyes had lit up in delight as he pulled out a white chocolate bar out of his locker. The student proceeded in unwrapping the confines of the delicious treat, waffing in the angelic scent.

"Oh chocolate. I don't care if you're bad for my heart, you're still a gift from the heavens," he said in a worshipping tone. He broke a piece off of his bar and placed it in his mouth. Almost instantly he was greeted with the divine flavor, savoring it to the upmost extreme.

"You and you're obsession with chocolate. I swear, one of these days you're going to get a heart attack."

"You're just saying that because you're jealous Kiba."

"Me? Jealous of a friend for getting a heart condition? HA! It will be hysterical."

"I meant that you're jealous because you aren't having a taste of heaven in your hands right now," Joshua retorted as he took in another piece of the white creamy goodness. Kiba only scoffed at it.

"Chocolate may be good, but the TRUE taste of heaven is none other than beef. So many ways to cook it... charbroiled, grilled, cooked.... ahhgugh."

Joshua looked at his friend with an awkward look, shaking his head as he slung his backpack over his shoulder and left, waving farewell to his friend.

Mysterious Encounter, Changed Forever
Joshua was now quite a ways from Kasumi High. Infact, he was now in one of Kyoto's residential areas. He made a curve towards around a light post when he had heard a particular noise. He turned around to see who...or what was behind him. To his disapointment, there was nothing, causing the young boy to sigh.

"Hey there child!"

Joshua leapt in suprise as he looked above to see who it was. The figure revealed itself to be a man that looked like as if he was in his eighties, was bald, had a long mustache and beard combo, wore a hawaiian shirt, and had a traditional ghost tail. In fact, he resembled a certain martial artist.

"Don't scare me like that! I couldn've had a heart attack," the student panted as he pouted at the spirit.

"I apologize for the inconvi- WAIT! YOU CAN SEE ME?"

"Of course I can. I've seen many ghosts," Joshua responded. Then he sat down on his butt and dug into his backpack, looking for a Hershey's milk chocolate bar. After fist pumped in triumph, he opened it up. "So, what can I help you with?"

The ghost nodded, interested. Nonetheless he pondered for a moment or two. While he was doing this, Joshua helped himself with a bite of his chocolate treat.

"AHA! I got it!" the spirit said, signaling the boy to perk up."How would you like to sit down and listen to a story of mine? An old man needs to tell a story you know."

Joshua smiled brightly, nodding his head rapidly.

"Bring it on! I'm going to listen the heck out of that story."

Just as the old man openned his mouth, a large humanoid-like creature appeared behind them.? Joshua felt the shockwave of the landing, causing him to turn his body to see such a creature. This creature had blue skin, a white bird mask, and it had black stripes around his body. But the thing that struck the student the most was that there was a hole where its belly button should be.

"Yikes! Th-th-th..."

"HOLY CRAP!!! IT HAS NO BELLY BUTTON!"

"DON'T GET CLOSE TO IT BOY! IT'LL..."

Joshua went up to the monster, briefly looking up at it. Then he looked at the hole. The thought of what would possibly be one of the dumbest idea that someone could do. He shoved his hand through the hole, then he pulled it out. Then he when back in, then out. Basically this was something that the student found amusing. The elderly spirit facepalmed at the display of immaturity that was before him.

"This. Is. AWESOME!" Joshua said in a similar fashion to a little boy? that goes? down a slide. Clearly he was having a blast from doing this. However, the creature had other plans apparently. So it unleashed an animalistic roar that was comparable to one of an aggressive lion. The roar was so threatening, that it was like a gust of wind, blowing at the student. The creature then attempted to claw at the student, signaling him to make a run for it. Fearing the creature itself, the spirit flew the same direction that Joshua was.

"I GUESS I ANGERED HIM!"

"OF COURSE YOU DID! DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT THIS CREATURE IS?"

Joshua stopped in his tracks and turned around to face the pursuing creature. He looked at it with a serious expression, opening his arms wide. The creature raised its arm again as it prepared itself for another attack. Just then, almost as if it was instantaneous, the mask on the creature's face cracked. This crack became bigger, then it became an openning that splitted the mask. The mask finally broke, causing the creature to howl in pain before it disappeared.

"Another one down..."

Then a man appeared infront of the student. He had long, crimson red hair that was in a ponytail. His forehead was covered by a black headband with bracers to match.? What he wore on his body was something that seemed outdated, more like a black kimono.