Chaos in the Hall
The Guild hall was enormous... vaulted ceilings, banners fluttering though no wind touched them, torches burning without smoke. And yet the grandeur was wasted on the people inside.
Ichika Kurosaki slammed her fist against the table, reiatsu spilling out like static. Opposite her, Uchiha Satsuki sat with eerie calm, crimson eyes glowing faintly.
"You think you can glare me into submission?" Ichika snapped.
Satsuki's lips curved faintly. "It's working, isn't it?"
A surge of pressure cracked the wood between them.
"Oi, oi," Gojo drawled, leaning back in her chair, white blindfold tilted up just enough to show a sharp grin. "If you're gonna kill each other, at least wait until I get my popcorn. Or better yet, just kiss and save us the trouble."
"WE'RE NOT!" both snapped at once, sparks literally flashing between them.
On the floor, Yaya sprawled dramatically. "Ughhh… I'm dying. My divine vessel is empty. Someone feed me before my followers build a shrine to my corpse."
"You don't have followers," Kazumi Satou said flatly, sipping tea she definitely hadn't paid for. She kicked her leg idly against the table. "And if you did, you'd scam them out of their offerings."
"Blasphemy," Yaya gasped, clutching her chest. "Kazumi-chan, you wound me."
"Good. Maybe you'll shut up."
Across it all, Ainz Ooal Gown sat at the head, skeletal fingers tapping slowly. Her glowing eyes dimmed slightly in what might have been a sigh.
And in the middle of it all, Lin Xueyao stood with a clipboard, desperately waving papers. "E-Everyone! Please! We need to review patrol assignments!"
"Pass," Gojo said immediately.
"I didn't even say which one!" Lin squeaked.
Ichika and Satsuki ignored her entirely, too busy locking spiritual and ocular death-glares. Yaya rolled over and groaned louder. Kazumi hummed like she was commentating a sports match. Ainz remained terrifyingly silent.
Lin's jaw tightened. "I… I'm the manager! You have to listen!"
Nobody listened.
---
The doors creaked open.
A boy stepped through... school uniform immaculate, hands in his pockets, eyes calm as still water. Kurosawa Ras.
The air shifted. Even Ichika's flaring reiatsu stilled for a moment. Satsuki's Sharingan dimmed, curious. Yaya perked up, Kazumi smirked, Gojo leaned forward with interest, and Ainz's eyes narrowed.
And Lin froze.
Her clipboard nearly fell from her hands. Then her face lit up. "Kurosawa Ras! Finally!"
Everyone blinked.
"You… know him?" Ichika asked warily.
"Of course I do!" Lin chirped. "Sobu High! The Service Club! Totsuka-chan! I've seen it all!"
Gojo tilted her head. "Manager-chan, you've lost it again."
Kazumi snorted. "What is this, some meta isekai joke?"
But Ras stilled. Just for a breath.
She knows my school life. Exactly. Like she's been watching it.
It clicked, sharp and quiet. To her, I'm canon.
The thought was unsettling. And yet, I smoothed it over instantly, a faint smile touching my lips.
"…If you say so."
Lin beamed.
---
"Anime boy, huh?" Gojo chuckled. "That explains the dead-fish eyes. Straight out of a manga panel."
"Doesn't matter what panel he's from," Ichika muttered. "If he's weak, he's dead weight."
Satsuki nodded faintly. "Agreed."
Kazumi smirked. "Bet he trips over his shoelaces in his first fight."
Yaya raised a hand weakly. "If he has food, I don't care. Just feed me."
Through it all, Ras's calm gaze swept the room, lingering just long enough on each of them before returning to Lin. "Nice to meet you," he said simply.
Lin beamed brighter.
Kazumi leaned forward. "So, Mr. Anime, what's your power? Sparkles? Friendship speeches?"
Ras tilted his head slightly. "And yours?"
Kazumi blinked. "…Scams, obviously."
"Then you should know better than to underestimate someone else's."
Her smirk twitched, slipping. "…Touche."
Yaya flopped closer. "Ras-kun, right? Please tell me your world has food. Convenience stores. Ramen shops. Anything."
"I'm a student," Ras said dryly. "Convenience stores are my kingdom."
Yaya gasped. "Convenience stores… you're a saint!"
Gojo grinned wider. "Oh, you're fun. Most newbies brag or panic. You? You just… brushed it off from your shoulder."
"Standing is easy," Ras said, lips quirking.
Gojo laughed. "I like you." with a cunning glint on her eyes.
Ichika frowned. "I don't."
"Nor do I," Satsuki added, her crimson eyes sharp.
Ainz in her skeletal figure finally spoke, voice like cold steel. "…Manager. Why is he here?"
Lin straightened nervously. "B-Because the Guild system accepted him! Just like all of you."
"We'll see." Ainz's Hollowed-eyes glowed faintly, unknown what she's thinking.
---
Lin clapped her hands. "From today, Ras is officially part of your team!"
The others muttered varying degrees of skepticism.
Ras inclined his head politely. "I'll do my best."
Cool, composed, charming in his understatement.
And though the Guild hall roared back to chaos around him, none of them could quite ignore the way his presence had change the situation.
-----
The Guild hall buzzed with its usual cocktail of chaos. Ichika and Satsuki locked in yet another stare-off, Gojo leaning back like the world's most annoying spectator, Yaya sprawled dramatically on the floor, and Kazumi sipping tea she hadn't paid for.
Lin Xueyao stood at the front, holding a clipboard like it was a holy weapon. "A-Alright, listen up! Today's patrols are set. And Ras… you'll be going out for the first time."
All eyes turned to me. I was leaning casually against the wall, hands in my pockets, expression cool.
Ichika groaned immediately. "What? You're sticking me with the newbie?"
Satsuki's eyes narrowed. "He'll just slow us down."
I tilted my head. "Good morning to you too."
"Don't get cocky," Ichika snapped.
"Too late," I said smoothly.
Yaya perked up weakly. "If Ras-kun's going, can I switch with him? I feel a divine calling to sleep."
Kazumi snorted. "Nice try. The only thing divine about you is your talent for mooching."
Gojo grinned. "Oho, this'll be fun. Ichika, Satsuki, and the anime boy on patrol? Either you come back bonded for life… or one of you comes back missing a limb."
"Not helping!" Lin squeaked.
I raised a hand lazily. "Fine with me. Just tell me where to walk, and I'll try not to trip over anything important."
Ichika scowled. Satsuki's Sharingan flared briefly. Lin clapped nervously. "G-Great! Then it's settled. Ras, Ichika, Satsuki. head out to the eastern sector."
---
The moment we stepped past the Guild gates, the world changed.
The ground beneath was cracked stone, suspended over a void of endless colors twisting together -purple, green, and black, like oil burning on water. The sky wasn't sky at all, just swirling mist pierced by faint stars that moved when you weren't looking.
"This," Ichika said, swinging her sword over her shoulder, "is chaotic space. Welcome to the neighborhood."
I glanced around calmly. "Charming place. Needs more coffee shops."
Satsuki walked ahead, voice level. "The Guild hall is at the center. This surrounding area is unstable. Monsters form from the chaos, feeding off it. If left alone, they spread. Cleaning them is what stabilizes the zone."
Ichika kicked a stone into the void. It vanished without a sound. "You'll see kobolds mostly. Sometimes ogres. Always female, for some reason."
I arched an eyebrow. "Even the chaos here respects world demographics."
Neither of them laughed, but Ichika's mouth twitched before she hid it.
Satsuki ignored us both. "Each time we clean, the Guild gains more territory. Lin, Gojo, and Ainz believe the Guild itself has mechanism, functions we unlock by expanding."
"Video game logic," I said.
"Exactly," Ichika replied, surprising me. "It's stupid, but it works."
---
We followed the jagged path outward.
Satsuki's eyes scanned the horizon. "Sometimes, rifts appear. Space cracks. They connect to other worlds."
Ichika spat to the side. "And when that happens, everyone starts arguing over who goes in."
"Why?" I asked.
"Because," Satsuki said, "a crack is both danger and opportunity. Entering means risking annihilation… or gaining power beyond measure."
Ichika shrugged. "Basically, idiots volunteer, smart people get dragged in anyway."
I hummed softly. "Sounds like field trips back home."
They both glanced at me, confused. I smiled faintly. "Don't worry about it." 'I'm strong' Ras said internally.
We didn't find a crack that day. Only empty paths stretching into the endless storm.
---
The kobolds came first.
Small, twisted things, wolf-headed, clawed, snarling as they rushed from the mist.
Ichika's blade flashed, slicing through three at once. She grinned fiercely. "Too easy."
Satsuki moved like water, her blade cutting precise arcs, every strike efficient. No wasted motion, no flourish.
I stood a few steps back, hands in my pockets, watching.
"You just gonna stand there?" Ichika barked.
"Why ruin the show?" I said smoothly.
She snarled, but the distraction cost her, a kobold nearly clipped her side before Satsuki finished it for her.
"Focus," Satsuki muttered.
Ichika scowled. "I had it!"
"Sure," I said dryly. "You almost had it embedded in your ribs."
Ichika whipped her head toward me. "You little-!"
A roar cut her off. The ogre appeared! towering, muscular, but distinctly female. It swung a club the size of a tree trunk.
"Mine," Ichika growled, charging recklessly.
Satsuki sighed, covering her flank. "Don't slow me down."
I watched calmly as they tore through the beast, Ichika's raw power colliding with the ogre's strikes, Satsuki darting in with precise cuts until the giant fell.
When it was over, Ichika wiped her blade on her sleeve, glaring at me. "You didn't lift a finger."
"I cheered internally," I said.
Her jaw dropped. "You-!"
"Messy, but effective," I added calmly. "Work on your coordination."
Satsuki's eyes flicked toward me, sharp but unreadable.
---
Back at the Guild hall, Lin nearly burst with excitement. "Everyone, gather! We've unlocked a new function!"
A glyph glowed on the meeting room wall. Words scrolled across it in faint light.
"Introducing : Guild Chat! Now you can send messages to each other across worlds! Lets activate it!"
After Lin Xueyao activated the Chat- function, an imaginary-hologhraphic interface appear in front of the guild mates, for modern person, it wouldn't appear strange, but fortunately it doesn't need to type nor to speak for it. just by thinking, it would do as we want it to do.
---
There was a pause in the hall. Then Kazumi typed first(through her mind):
> Kazumi: Lin smells like paperwork.
Lin yelped. "I CAN SEE THAT!"
Gojo followed immediately:
> Gojo: First one to use this to confess gets my respect.
Ichika slammed her fist on the table.
> Ichika: Shut up, blindfold pervert!
> Gojo: Oho? Touchy. Projection much?
Yaya spammed instantly:
> Yaya: FOOD??? RAMEN??? Convenience store pics plz!!!
Kazumi groaned.
> Kazumi: You're pathetic.
Finally, I typed one line:
> Ras: Testing. Works fine.
The room reacted instantly.
Gojo: "Smooth as his face."
Kazumi: "Pretentious."
Ichika: "Tch."
Satsuki: "…" (didn't reply, which said enough).
Then Ainz typed, slowly.
> Ainz: A guild chat… how long has it been?
Her real voice dropped lower, nostalgic. "Once, I spoke like this with comrades who never followed me into my world…"
For a rare moment, the hall went quiet.
I glanced at the glowing wall. "It's a good function. Strategy, coordination… or just somewhere to throw chaos without breaking the furniture."
Lin's eyes sparkled. "Yes! Exactly! Finally, someone gets it!"
---
Back to Sobu High
Morning sunlight. The chatter of classmates. Back to normal.
At least, it looked normal. But I noticed the flickers — shadows too sharp, corners of the room bending slightly wrong.
By the time I headed for the tram, one slipped out of the alley — a twisted spirit, weak but snarling.
I didn't even slow down. Fingers flicked lightly, forming the motion I knew by heart.
"Lightning Arrow."
A sharp glow — the spirit dissolved into dust. No one noticed.
I boarded the tram, uniform immaculate, adjusting my sleeve as the city rolled by.
They're getting more frequent, I thought. Maybe the cracks aren't staying in the Guild's space anymore.
But outwardly, I only looked like another student heading to class.