"Is there seriously nothing here?"

You let out an exasperated sigh when you were met with disappointment yet again. No matter how meticulously you searched the room, rummaged through the desks, read every sheet of paper available, you couldn't find any information regarding your current presence in this world.

Currently, it was the day after when you had first woken up in this world. After your dinner with Caleb, you headed straight to bed as soon as possible to sleep away your stress. When you woke up this morning, your heart sank when you realised that you were still in this world. Seems like no matter how much you wanted to reject your new reality, you had no choice but to accept it.

Aside from the occasional nightmares that woke you up in a cold sweat during the night, you had significantly calmed down since yesterday. Well, the main reason why you were calmer was because you were trying your best to push aside any thoughts that would remind you of what you witnessed during your possession.

Right now you needed to get a solid idea of not only your current situation, but also a feel for what your plans were for the future. So, the first thing you opted to do today was figure out just exactly who you were in this world. Friends, families, previous affiliations, financial situation; you needed information such as that so you were more comfortable continuing this life.

However, the only pieces of information you could confirm weren't useful. Stuff like your full name, age, date of birth, and your current occupation. You even searched your phone and found no traces of any connections with anyone. Heck, the photo album was even empty.

With a groan, you closed the desk drawer for what seemed to be the hundredth time this morning. You gave up and fell backward onto your bed with your arms sprawled out. Just who the hell were you in this world? You couldn't even conclude that you've assumed an existing character role since, for your particular dispatch, the game never mentioned anything about the support team's leader.

"Well, I do look the same as I did in the past," you mumbled. "So I guess I'm just a new character...?"

Heaving a sigh, you took your keycard and hung it around your neck. It was your form of identification in the AEI as well as the only piece of information that you had of yourself in this world. You zipped up your jacket and checked your reflection.

The uniform provided by the AEI wasn't anything too strict, the only mandatory piece of clothing were the jackets. Pants and shoes were left to choice by the individuals so long as it was appropriate for operations and the colours were dark. Additional accessories such as jewellery were encouraged to keep to a minimum.

The jacket was pretty oversized and it covered your neck. The entire colour was black aside from the inside of the hood and the designs imprinted onto it such as the outlines on the pockets, the bold letters that spelt AEI across the back of the jacket, the two straight lines drawn across the sleeves, your dispatch number imprinted on the right side of your chest, and the small upside down triangles that decorated the edge of the sleeves.

The colour of the designs varied depending on the position. Support had yellow, defence had a navy blue, offence had a deep crimson red, and the specialty force had white. Often times in the dark the coloured parts of the jacket would illuminate faintly. You always thought that was a cool effect.

As satisfied as you could be with your appearance, you opened the door and locked it behind you before stepping into the hallway.

Hm, it seems like I chose to live in the institution building instead of my own accommodation.

A benefit of working in the AEI was that they allowed you to live in their building. Many chose to live here which was why it was usually brimming with life day or night. You didn't blame them. After all, the building was not only spacious, but you could tell that a lot of money went into it by how polished and luxurious everything is. It also accommodated for all your basic essentials, provided the convenience of showing up to work early, granted access to the training grounds, etc.

Though, you supposed an inconvenience would be when an emergency operation arises at night. The people who live in the building would be the first the institution would order to get into action. Meaning, you could be peacefully sleeping late into the night before being forced to wake up and get to work. Heck, if push comes to shove, some even end up exorcising apparitions in their pyjamas. But, it was a fair compensation for the free accommodation and services on top of your existing pay.

You started to make your way over to the cafeteria. Saying that the layout of the institution was huge was an understatement. The place could be dubbed as a different world in and of itself with how complex it was and how many different areas it branched off to; outside training areas, inside shooting practices, places to relax, libraries, kitchens, separate areas for specific divisions, etc. If it weren't for the map function you would have spent 99% of your gameplay getting lost.

Luckily, after playing for so long, you've gotten a pretty good idea of the layout. Zipping down the collar of your jacket, you took a look at your keycard. Well, it wasn't like you could access many of the areas anyways with your current position.

When you finally arrived at the cafeteria, you paused at the muffled voices that came from the other side. With a deep breath, you opened the door and peeked your head out. Everyone was minding their own business until someone's sights happened to land on you.

"Support leader!"

"She's here!"

"Good morning!"

You couldn't help but smile and let out a sigh of relief at the welcoming sight. You weren't sure what type of team your's was so you were glad that the support team from your dispatch seemed to be friendly. Unlike other dispatches you've encountered in the game.

"Hey guys," you said, walking over to them. "How is everyone?"

"We're fine, but are you okay? You suddenly separated from us!"

"Yeah! Lily was so worried about you."

Lily? That wasn't a name you recognised.

"I think you should take the day off, don't overwork yourself."

You felt touched at their words of concern. Yup, this type of bright and supportive environment was just what you needed after stressing about your reincarnation into this world.

"S-support leader?"

You did your best to hide the confusion that would've been written all over your face at the unfamiliar female that stood in front of you. You did not recognise her as any of the characters in the game.

The female had dark lavender hair that was messily tied into a side braid followed by large round glasses that encased her onyx coloured eyes, and she carried a timid presence. Her eyebrows were knitted together in concern and she looked to be on the verge of tears.

Without a word, she rushed up to you and pulled you in a hug. Caught off by surprise, you almost fell backwards at the sudden gesture. Okay, now you were very confused.

"I'm so sorry." Her voice just just above a whisper.

"...Sorry?"

The girl pulled away from your embrace, her hands still on the sides of your arms. "I-if I had paid closer attention to you, you wouldn't have gotten hurt! If any had happened to you I would've––I'm so useless why couldn't I––"

"Woah, woah. Slow down there." Was she Lily? That was the only conclusion you could draw. But, who was she to you? Given how intimate she was with the hug, you guys must be pretty close. "Caleb saved me in time, so nothing bad happened to me. So don't worry, okay?"

The girl didn't seem convinced by your words, but she nodded slowly. The members in your team had varied reactions to it. Some playfully teased her for crying while others patted her on the back reassuringly and handed her some tissues.

Ah, man. You didn't expect to encounter an unfamiliar person so soon. But, maybe she could be your ticket to finding out more about the you who resided in this world.

"You're not lying, right? You're really okay?" she asked.

You nodded and threw her a thumbs up for good measure. "Yup, no scratches. Just witnessed Caleb exorcise an apparition awesomely."

"Oh, right! Didn't Caleb take you somewhere after the operation?" one of the member's asked.

"Yeah, he did. Sorry, Lily. I dumped my responsibilities on you, didn't I?" You were betting on the fact that it was her name. If you were wrong, you'd have to make some spontaneous excuse.

The female frantically waved her hand at you. "N-no! It's okay, I didn't mind at all!"

You smiled in relief. Oh, thank god. That was her name. "By the way, can I ask something? What exactly happened?"

Lily looked at you quizzically. "U-uhm, what do you mean?"

"The thing is, I have no idea how I ended up in the school. Did an apparition get to me?"

There were soft murmurs amongst the crowd as people discussed your question. But, it only resulted in the members shaking their heads. It seemed like no one knew what happened to you. It left a bad taste in your mouth with how many uncertainties revolved around your presence, but you supposed all you could really do now was accept the unanswered questions instead of wasting too much time stressing over it.

Interrupting the friendly atmosphere, the entrance to the cafeteria abruptly opened. The air suddenly grew tense and conversations immediately died down. Lily flinched at the presence and you looked over your shoulder with curious eyes.

Hair coloured a purple that had a rich red wine tint to it, piercings on the left side of his eyebrow, cherry red eyes that were sharp in shape, an unfriendly and intimidating gaze, and a presence that exuded a substantial amount of authority; upon recognition of who it was, you understood the reason behind the sudden shift in mood.

Lyle...didn't expect to meet him this early on.

Many of the members in your team had looks of either discomfort or fear in their faces. A lot averted eye contact and tried to make themselves as small and unnoticeable as possible.

Well, their actions made sense. The support teams were the least respected amongst the institution. Cases of harassment from other divisions weren't exactly common, but they still occurred. Dispatch 00, the offence division. They were the main ones doing said harassment. Lyle was a character who was the leader of that team.

Saying that you would describe the team as arrogant was a severe understatement. They were not only the literal embodiment of the term, but also all of its synonyms. As for Lyle? Well, you supposed he was a bit of a different case.

Lyle walked into the cafe, the tension in the air growing oppressively thicker with each step he took further into the space. His team trailed behind him and when they walked by your team, they sneered. They weren't exactly trying to hide the look of belittlement in their expressions either.

Each division was designated a different cafeteria. It wasn't mandatory to remain in that specific one, however, it became a custom amongst the AEI for the different divisions to remain in their own areas. So, the offence team's presence here definitely stood out and spelt major trouble.

The offence team's reason for being here was either that they came to make everyone uncomfortable for their amusement or they found another reason to pick on you guys directly. Though, normally Lyle wouldn't be present with them. So why––

"Hey, are you the team's support leader?"

You broke out of your thoughts when you realised that Lyle was standing right in front of your table. Judging from his stern expression, you felt like the longer you took to answer the more likely he was to throw hands at you.

"Yeah, I am."

Thoughtful for a moment, the male then gestured for his teammates to leave the cafeteria. Many of them protested, but one glare from Lyle made them immediately shut up and reluctantly obey his orders.

You knitted your eyebrows together, confused. What was he doing?

"What's with that expression?"

"Well, I'm just confused why you're here. If you couldn't tell, your presence is making a lot of us uncomfortable."

Ah, okay. Maybe you shouldn't have said that with such a spiteful tone. Remembering the treatment of what some of the support teams received from his team made you feel a little bitter.

The male sighed exasperatedly. "I should've expected this. What a waste of time coming here."

I know he gets character development in the future, but what a jerk.

"Can I at least ask why you were here?"

"That's none of your business."

"That sounds like an excuse to me."

Lyle's eyes narrowed at you, gaze filled with contempt and annoyance. "You sound arrogant for a support."

"My position doesn't determine what kind of personality I'm allowed to have." You've been through a similar situation when playing as the protagonist, so retaliating wasn't difficult.

At first glance, you'd assume Lyle was here just to solely belittle you. Though early on in the game his mindset was closed off and fixed, he still wasn't the type to harass others for no reason. However, what made him someone unlikeable was the fact that he never stopped his teammates from doing so. It wasn't like he encouraged it, he just didn't care.

The male often kept to himself and focused on his own thing. But, when you do talk to him, he can come off as extremely rude. He can be quick to annoy and getting him to sympathise with you on any means was practically impossible. Lyle was one of the characters that was slowly getting a promising development before the protagonist ended up killing everyone.

"Oh? Looks like I came across an interesting scene."

Everyone's heads turned around at the new voice. It was Caleb. The male ignored the conspicuously tense air as he strolled in with a carefree smile and sat down right next to you, much to everyone's surprise.

"Good morning!" he chirped. Caleb then looked over to Lyle before focusing his attention back at you. "Hm, I could be wrong, but is this a good time?"

"We're having a moment," you said.

"Aw, you're going to make me feel jealous. I thought we had a moment yesterday when I protected you from the vengeful apparition," he said, feigning a hurt look. "Don't worry, I wouldn't have blamed you if you fell for me. Confess now and I'll even consider a relationship."

"What are you doing here?"

Lyle's voice cut through your conversation with Caleb. Oh man, you had almost forgotten. Early on in the game Lyle absolutely despised Caleb. So it was no surprise to hear so much venom in his tone despite the differences in authority between the two.

A hum flowing from his lips, Caleb tilted his head to the side before snapping his fingers and cheerfully answering with, "just wanted to do a little check up!"

Lyle knitted his eyebrows together. "What?"

"Well, you see..." Caleb placed an arm over your shoulder. "I wanted to check if miss support here was okay from yesterday's possession. It was from a vengeful apparition, you know? I bet you'd cry if that happened to you."

"...Possession?" Lily looked over to you with a panicked expression and you felt your heart tighten a little at how concerned she looked. "You were possessed by the vengeful apparition?! Why didn't you tell us?"

"...No one asked?"

You heard collective sighs from you teammates and you slipped in an apology and a promise to not do that again.

"Are you sure you don't want to take the day off?"

"Don't force yourself! If you need to rest, do so!"

"Yeah! Don't feel pressured because you're our support leader!"

Thankful for their concerns, you did your best to reassure your team that you were fine. It was both overwhelming and heartwarming to see so many people worrying over your wellbeing. Everyone decided to take your word for it. Well, not after scolding you for not telling them about the possession.

Lyle scowled. "She's the most protected in any operation. Support members are the most protected in any operation. Quit acting like your lives are just as in danger as ours."

A whistle came from Caleb at that. His eyes were sparkling in amusement and intrigue, it was as if he was hoping for some kind of drama to unfold. Nudging you, he said, "Hey, miss support. Are you just going to take that?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Aw, boring." Caleb turned his attention over to Lyle. "Well, whatever. Are you done here yet? You stick out like a sore thumb."

Lyle scoffed. "Like you're one to talk. Slacking off on your duties again? Some member of the speciality force you are."

Caleb laughed. "What are you going to do about it, stop me?" With his hand, he playfully acted out a gun pointing to his head. "You'd be lucky if I don't blow your head off. Anyways, I'll be kidnapping her for a bit."

You looked over to Caleb. "What––"

The male grabbed onto your arm and pulled you up. With a cheerful wave goodbye, he exited the cafeteria whilst taking you with him. You weren't able to see everyone's reactions, but you could infer that Lyle must be furious with how Caleb literally walked out of the conversation. And given Caleb's reputation for being spontaneous and unpredictable, your team's concern for you must've spiked through the roof.

"So, where are we going?"

"On a patrol! Hey, you didn't have breakfast, right?" You nodded and Caleb smiled exuberantly. "Let's stop by a cafe then!"

"Wait, what about the patrol––"

The male chuckled. "We can do that inside the building, it's basically the same thing, right?"

===

Typically, when there isn't an operation, AEI members would often go out patrolling. Apparitions appearing in random public spaces wasn't an uncommon occurrence and the city needed AEI members around to ensure that everyone is safe. Though not all apparitions were dangerous, it puts the citizens at ease knowing that there are people watching over their wellbeing.

Currently, you were in a cafe with Caleb eating breakfast not patrolling like he said the two of you would be doing. You ordered whatever you usually had for breakfast whilst Caleb decided to have dessert first thing in the morning. You shouldn't have been surprised when he did that, the guy had the biggest sweet tooth in the AEI.

"Say ah~"

"Caleb, this is the fifth time already."

The male pouted. "I asked for two spoons for a reason. Besides, there's no way I can finish this all on my own!"

"That's a lie and you know it."

"Aw, caught me." The male chuckled. "Just one last time, I swear."

You reluctantly complied with the male and he happily fed you a spoonful of parfait. Luckily, Caleb kept true to his words and stopped giving you his food after that.

Gaze drifting out the window, you observed the scenery from the glass wall beside you. Watching the busy road, seeing the tall buildings; you'd be lying if you said that you didn't want to explore the city. Sure you've done that plenty in the game, but you wanted to get that experience in person instead of behind a computer screen. Might as well make the most out of your reincarnation, right?

"Hey, are we going on a proper patrol after this?" you asked.

"A proper one? What do you mean, I'm doing my job perfectly right now."

Just as he said that, someone had abruptly slammed––you're guessing it was their fists––on the table behind you, making you flinch in surprise. You turned around and saw a middle aged man with a furious expression directed at the waitress that was serving him. She was clearly shaken up and you immediately felt bad for her.

"I risk my life during operations and you couldn't even get my order right?!"

The entire cafe went silent and an uncomfortable atmosphere suspended in the air. Some people glanced at the scene behind you whilst others tried to ignore it and quietly minded their own business.

The man was wearing the AEI's uniform, as the same one as yours at that. He was a member of the support team. You refrained yourself from sighing out of irritation. His attitude was what you were afraid your own support team was going to have. Not all support members were as friendly as humble as the ones from your dispatch.

Becoming a support team member isn't as difficult in comparison to the other positions. The exact details were never revealed, but the institution permits even just regular doctors inside the AEI to work as support members. You always wondered why the institution did this. The reasoning was never explained, but you could make some inferences here and there.

Many doctors––heck, even people who just had some medical experience––take up the position thanks to the eye catching benefits of being in the AEI. However, people do so with greed in their eyes. They gloss over what being an AEI member truly entailed, which was being prepared to put your life on the line for the sake of the citizens. 'The citizens take top priority above all' that was essentially the AEI's motto.

In turn, many complained about risking their lives on a daily basis during operations. They also act much more high and mighty than they actually are. You had experience with them during your gameplay and definitely raged a couple of times. You hated the fact that the genuine support members who took their jobs seriously had to be associated with people like them.

Caleb stood up from his seat and you watched as he calmly walked over to the man. You observed the scene curiously and attentively. What was he planning to do? The man looked ready to to blow his head off with more complaints, however, he paused when he recognised Caleb's uniform.

"Hah! Why isn't it someone from the specialty force," the man said heartily. "This girl can't even do her job right! Can you believe that? Knock some sense into her!"

Caleb didn't respond as a yawn escaped his lips. He casually placed a hand on the man's shoulder, putting a finger to his lips to shush the man when he tried to protest. Caleb's smile was relaxed, however, a subtle perilous look glimmered in his emerald green eyes. Then, a crystalline light shone from Caleb's hands and the sound of a screech soon followed. Your eyes widened when you caught a glimpse of an apparition right before it was completely exorcised by Caleb.

"Old man, I think you should calm down a little," Caleb said as he casually patted the man's shoulder. "You were almost possessed by an apparition and you didn't even know it. Actually, maybe I should've let it get to you. It would've been hilarious to see you struggle after being such a nuisance."

"Wh-what––"

The male held up a hand, cutting the man off. With a smile, Caleb leaned in and whispered something to him. Paling and abruptly standing up from his seat, the man then immediately bolted out of the cafe.

Caleb laughed and looked over to the waitress. "Don't worry about the payment, just add it to my tab. I'll make sure to make him pay up later."

The cafe was silent, everyone was stunned by what had just occurred. Who wouldn't be? They just had front row seats to a member of the speciality force in action. Some teenagers even had their phones out, however, you doubted that they were able to record the exorcism in time.

Caleb glanced around the area. Some people shied away from his gaze while others just simply stared at him. There was not a move to approach him or break the silence in the air.

Sighing, Caleb's cheerful smile fell a little. "Actually, nevermind. I'll just pay now." The waitress nodded and immediately scurried off to the front desk. "Miss support, I'll give you five minutes to finish off the rest of your breakfast!"

"Are you trying to get me to choke on my food?"

Caleb innocently shrugged and went off to pay. When you had finished your food, you caught up with the male and the two of you exited the cafe.

"Thanks for paying again, I feel kinda bad now."

"Don't worry about it! It's the least I can do since I'm dragging you around."

"...That was an oddly noble reason?"

"Right? Aren't I such a good person?"

"Okay, I take it back. By the way, what did you whisper to the man?"

"Nothing much! Well, maybe I might've hinted that there may or may have not been more apparitions close by."

"Is that true?"

"Nope~ But, he didn't even question it! Man, some supports are just so cowardly they wouldn't hesitate to get out of danger as soon as possible," he said, a playful lull attached to his voice. "Anyways, Let's head somewhere else now!"

Since you were feeling eager to explore the city Anomalous took place in, you were actually on board with Caleb's spontaneous decisions on exploration. The two of you entered a shopping mall and wow it was definitely a sight to take in.

The male noticed your expression and chuckled. "Oh? Someone's excited. Hey, let's head over there!"

You looked over to where Caleb was gesturing to and saw a photobooth. Before you had the chance to comment, the male took you by the hand and dragged you there himself. You stumbled and almost fell faceforward and he only laughed at that.

The two of you entered the photo booth and you closed the curtain. When taking photos, sitting down and smiling normally was not an option with Caleb. For the duration, the two of you messed around and tried to take up the other person's space in the photo. It was chaotic, but you laughed a lot.

Once the photos were taken, the machine allowed you to doodle onto the photos taken. A lot of the pictures involved either Caleb pushing you out of frame or you doing the same to him. There was one that looked like it was somewhat organised. Caleb was smiling cheerfully, a hand outstretched into a peace sign and an arm over your shoulder while you were in the middle of laughing.

You were about to draw some cute doodles onto it, but Caleb had beaten you to the punch.

"Uh, Caleb. What are you doing?"

The male had drawn whiskers onto you. "Nothing?"

You shot him an unamused look and decided to draw devil horns onto him.

"Aw, how cute. Here, I'll give you a halo. Now we're matching!" he exclaimed happily. "Y'know what? I like this photo the best. We should print this one."

The machine printed two copies of the photo and you slipped it into your wallet for safe keeping.

"Why this one?" you asked.

"Because I look good it in."

"..."

"Don't worry, don't worry. I think you look pretty good in this one..." The male stared at the photo. "Give me a few days to think of a reason why."

"I am this close to throwing hands at you."

"But, your fingers are touching––"

"Exactly."

There was a moment of silence before Caleb bolted out of the photobooth with you trailing behind him. Whilst running, the male promptly stopped and turned around, causing you to run straight into him. The guy had his arms outstretched and he took advantage of the moment to pull you into an embrace.

"A hug? Aren't you adorable, how can I refuse?"

You blinked in surprise and you weren't sure how to respond. However, it didn't matter as immediately soon after yours and Caleb's device beeped at the same time. You pulled out of his embrace and the two of you exchanged curious looks before checking your devices.

"Another operation..." you mumbled.

Caleb nodded. "Seems like it's a follow up report of the one sent to me yesterday when we had dinner."

You read the details of it and the familiarity of it confirmed your suspicions. There was no doubt about it, this particular operation was the one in which the protagonist gets introduced. At the thought of it, a heavy feeling of apprehension weighed down on you.

"You got it too?" The male leaned over to you and you showed him the details of the report sent to your device. "Hey! We're doing the same operation. Isn't that great?"

"Yes, splendid," you said, a playful sarcasm evident in your tone. "They're asking for two members from the specialty force this time. This operation is really serious, huh? We should get going."

"As much as I'd like to procrastinate, I'll have to agree with you on that one."

You and Caleb pinpointed the location in which the operation would be taking place in. The institution had notified the both of you of several spots nearby where there will be a means of transportation waiting. You and Caleb quickly decided on where to go and began heading there.

As you were running, the thought of potentially meeting the protagonist wouldn't leave your mind.

The character you played as for the entire game, the character that you've seen through the eyes of, the character you stuck by no matter what kind of difficulties he encountered, the character who you experienced the ups and downs of, the character you felt like you understood the best.

You'll be meeting him soon.

Your heart raced a little faster at that and you placed a hand over your chest to settle it. Despite your uncertainties, despite your concerns for your safety, and despite your worries for the future in where the protagonist massacres everyone; you couldn't blame yourself for feeling a little excited to meet him.

What kind of person would he be now that there isn't a player behind a screen controlling his actions?

A/n: I enjoyed writing Caleb's interactions with the reader this chapter haha. I'm super glad to see that many of you guys have been enjoying his character, he's definetly someone who is fun to write.

Anyways! We'll be meeting the protagonist of this game soon! What kind of person would he be? How would the reader encounter him? How would they interact? Guess we'll find out in the next chapter 👀

Feel free to point out any mistakes!

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Have a good day/afternoon/night!