Fortunately for Mieko, the boy pulls out the key to the gate and opens it up for her. "Hurry, or you'll be late," he encourages before walking down the road.<br/><br/>The rest of the school day passes without incident. The students get to meet the rest of their classmates and teachers. Not much homework is assigned, a typical first day of school. It wasn't until after school activities that anything...unusual would happen.<br/>------------------------------<br/>After School<br/><br/>___________________<br/>The rest of the students file out of the classroom as the school day ends. Ai sits alone for a moment before gathering her stuff. She looks preoccupied as she makes her way to the computer lab used for the Online Gaming club. The club had a rocky start the previous year, but she and Yoshino had convinced the school to fund the club because it encouraged "socializing with others and cooperative spirit. " Ai was the assistant captain of the club, so no one second guessed her as she entered the room.  With the flick of a light switch, the room was illuminated. Ai took her seat at her usual computer and was delighted her old log in credentials still worked.<br/>She pulls up Legacy of Goettia and begins sifting through her messages. Nothing from Yoshino. Big surprise there. But one message catches her interest. One sent moments ago. "I know where your friend is."  She immediately opened the log and replied "where, please tell me?!"<br/>Moments later another message popped up. "Very well, but on one condition. You must agree to carefully consider your choices. You can do anything you want, so long as you're ready to accept the consequences of those actions. Do we have a deal?"<br/>She didn't care, she needed to find Yoshino. "Of course. Just tell me where she is!"<br/>"The doorway has opened. There is no turning back." Suddenly her monitor went blank. Red lines began to form, then swirl around on the blank screen. "Some kind of virus," she asks to no one in particular. Suddenly a black shadowy hand leaps out of the screen and grabs her by the throat.<br/>It begins squeezing hard, choking her. Out of fear and desperation she tries to struggle but can't break free. The arm is followed by another one, and then a black head covered in a mask emerges. If it weren't choking her, she probably would have screamed.  The rest of the shadowy mass exits the computer, still holding her in it's grasp. She lashes out with her foot and manages to connect with the creatures head.  Out of shock or surprise, the shadow lets her go and she desperately attempts to fill her lungs.  The shadow starts approaching her, so she runs to her bag, desperate to find something to defend herself with.  All she can come up with is a yard stick. "I'm warning you, stay back," she rasps, her voice coming out raw. Undeterred, the creature lunges forward, claws reaching out for her.