Songs in the Void

Hub World, Earth, Japan, Tokyo. 

Although he did not fall asleep until after 3 a.m., Tatsuo slowly opened his eyes at around sunrise. However, instead of getting out of bed, he stayed laying down, thinking about his life for the last fifteen years. 

"I feel like some kind of fan fic protagonist." Tatsuo muttered to himself. "I mean, a [System]? I have a freakin' [System]. On top of that, I live in a world with DOATECH. They're the bad guys from Dead or Alive. At least for the first four games. Then, there's Kasumi, the protagonist of DOA. And finally, there's Mai. She's a character from Fatal Fury and King of Fighters. What the hell?" 

Though those were the most glaring things about his new life that he could think of, Tatsuo knew there were other people he had become familiar with over the last few months that were fictional characters, as well. However, he never really thought about it since he was getting used to his new life. 

While lying in bed, Tatsuo continued to think about all the strange things he's come across in this life. However, he was broken out of his contemplations about an hour after he first opened his eyes. 

*Bang!* 

"Tatsu-Chan! Happy Birthday!" Sumire shouted as she slammed Tatsuo's bedroom door open. Then, she rushed forward and jumped on top of him with a big smile plastered on her face. 

"Ugh! Hey Mom, thanks." Tatsuo replied after grunting in pain because of his mother flopping down on his chest. 

"Tatsu-Chan! It's your birthday, how does it feel to be fifteen?' Sumire asked energetically as she wrapped her arms around her son's neck. 

Tatsuo wanted to respond with: the same way it felt yesterday." But after the [System] was upgraded, he felt different. 

"Different." Tatsuo replied. "I can't explain how, though." 

Hearing that, Sumire smiled brightly. Though there was a knowing glint in her eyes. A glint that Tatsuo missed. Then, she climbed off of Tatsuo and started pulling him out of bed. 

"Come on, Tatsu-Chan, it's time to get up." Sumire exclaimed energetically. "You gotta go wash your face. We're gonna train early today. That way, we can have your birthday party without any worries." 

"*Sigh* Okay, okay, don't pull so hard." Tatsuo replied as he slowly climbed out of bed. "I'm going, I'm going." 

After Tatsuo climbed out of bed, with the same level of energy, Sumire started pushing him towards his bathroom. And she did not stop until he was standing in front of his sink. 

"Now, wash your face and brush your teeth." Sumire said, her tone turning stern. "then, meet me in the training room." 

"Yeah, yeah, I know, Mom." Tatsuo replied as he turned on the faucet. 

Smiling in return, Sumire nodded in satisfaction once Tatsuo started washing his face. Then, she turned around before leaving both the bathroom and Tatsuo's bedroom. 

Not long later, Tatsuo left his room and took the elevator down one floor. Then, as soon as he stepped through the elevator doors into the training room, a soft body with a long, brown ponytail flowing behind it slammed into his chest. 

"Happy birthday, Tatsu-Kun!" Mai shouted cheerfully. "I hope you're looking forward to your birthday party!" 

"Yeah, I am." Tatsuo replied with a smile as he returned the hug. "Thanks, Mai-Nee." 

"Hehehe! Tatsu-Kun hugged me!" Mai squealed happily after feeling Tatsuo's arms wrap around her. A moment later, however, she snapped back to reality. "Now, let's start training, we have to prepare for the party after this." 

Nodding in response, Tatsuo released Mai. Then, he started his warmup, a ten lap run around the building. 

After his warmup, Kasumi, who had arrived while he was running, approached. Then, despite the fact that he had started sweating, she hugged him, as well. 

"Happy birthday, Tatsuo." Kasumi said in a gentle tone. 

"Thanks, Kasumi-Neesan." Tatsuo replied with a smile while returning the hug. 

"You two can talk later." Sumire, in her authoritative tone that is only reserved for training, barked, interrupting the moment between adopted siblings. "We're on a schedule. So, stop wasting time." 

With that, Tatsuo and Kasumi broke their hug. Then, they returned to training. And like that, the next few hours just flew by. Then, after getting cleaned up, Tatsuo was basically kicked out of the apartment and told to go out and buy himself something nice with Sumire's credit card in his hand. 

"Well, what should I do now?" Tatsuo asked himself as he stepped through the apartment building's main entrance. At the same time, he noticed a moving truck parked on the street in front of the building. "Oh, is someone moving in today?" 

As if waiting for Tatsuo to ask that question, the sliding doors behind him slid open. Through them, a beautiful, slender young woman, standing at about 5'4" tall, with green eyes and straight, thigh-length magenta hair. Two locks of her long hair rested on her shoulders with the lock on the right being braided. She also had a long ahoge that curled forward in front of her face. 

As the young woman walked towards the moving truck, Tatsuo saw that she was wearing a short sleeved, light blue, button-down shirt, a green skirt, stockings that drew attention to her slender legs, and a pair of black, low heeled shoes. 

"Seriously?" Tatsuo muttered to himself as he watched the magenta-haired young woman approach the moving truck. "That series is in this world, too? Then again, Sasaki Chinho is in my class at school, so…" 

A moment later, Tatsuo shook those thoughts out of his head. Then, he walked forward towards the young woman. 

"Hey, do you need any help?" Tatsuo asked politely. 

Startled slightly by being spoken to so suddenly, the young woman jumped before she quickly spun on her heels. On top of that, though it was only for an instant, her right hand moved to the left side of her waist, as if she were ready to draw a sword. 

"Huh? Oh, sorry, you startled me." The magenta -hared young woman said as she pulled her right hand away from her hip quickly and started patting herself on the chest. "Sorry, could you say that again?" 

"I asked if you needed any help." Tatsuo replied. "You're moving in, right?" 

"Um… No, that's okay." The young woman said with an awkward smile. "Thank you for the offer, though." 

"If you say so." Tatsuo said while shrugging his shoulders. "Well, I guess that makes sense. I mean, some strange kid offering to help out of the blue is pretty suspicious, huh?" 

"Huh? No! That's not what I---" The young woman replied explosively while waving her hands in panic. 

"Hahaha! Chill out, Miss." Tatsuo said after laughing hardily. "I was just messing with you. By the way, my name's Tatsuo… Soramoto Tatsuo. I live in the penthouse on the top floor of the building with my mom, my sister, and my mom's secretary. If you need anything while you're getting settled in, we'd be happy to lend you a hand." 

"Oh, that's very kind of you. Thank you." The young woman replied as she bowed her head politely. "My name is Yusa Emi. I hope we get along in the future." 

"Same here." Tatsuo said with a smile. "And you're sure you don't' need a hand, Yusa-San?" 

"I'm sure, don't worry about me." The young woman, Emi, said with a smile. Then, she raised her slender, right arm, bent it at the elbow, and flexed. "Trust me, I'm a lot stronger than I look." 

"Alright." Tatsuo said as he turned away. Then, he started walking away while waving his hand as he continued. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Yusa-San. I'll see you around." 

"It was nice to meet you, too, Soramoto-San." Emi replied politely. Then, she turned back to the moving truck and grabbed more of her belongings. 

Tatsuo, after getting a little distance away from his apartment building started muttering to himself. 

"Seriously, the people from the 'Devil is a Part-Timer!' Are already here on Earth?" Tatsuo asked himself. "Well, at least I know I've got about six months before shit starts popping off with them. I mean, since Emi is just moving in, that means she shouldn't have gotten here from Ente Isla too long ago. Hmm? I wonder if Maou is already working at MgRonald's maybe I'll go check it out today." 

With thoughts of "The Devil is a Part-Timer!" running through his head, Tatsuo continued walking the streets of Tokyo. Eventually, he reached the subway station. Then, he embarked on a trip to Akihabara, thinking he should get a lap top to use with his [Hacking] skill, despite the fact that he already had a desktop PC at home. 

However, while he was riding the train, he came to a realization. 

"Wait a minute!" Tatsuo exclaimed internally. "If 'The Devil Is a Part-Timer!' is part of this world, doesn't that mean there is magic or some kind of energy here? Then, why don't I have anything in my [Energy Stat], yet?" 

While continuing to ponder that question, Tatsuo eventually reached the Akihabara Station. Then, after disembarking, he used his smartphone to find the best place to buy a top of the line laptop, putting the thoughts about his [Energy Stat] to the back of his mind… For now. 

Eventually, after an hour spent searching and comparing prices, Tatsuo bought a laptop that made him satisfied. And although he thought he might have seen a few other characters from anime and video games that he recognized, he was too focused on his search for a laptop to be sure. 

After another subway ride, Tatsuo returned to Sasazuka. And just like he planned, he went to MgRonald's for a late lunch. And as it turned out, the MgRonald's was fairly close to the train station. So, he did not have to go very far out of his way. 

Arriving at the MgRonald's Tatsuo noticed that it was almost empty. However, that made since, considering that the lunch rush should have ended by now. 

Wasting no time, Tatsuo walked up to the counter to place his order. As he did, he caught sight of a young man, seeming to be in his early twenties, with green-tinted black hair, and red eyes standing at about 5'8" tall wearing he standard MgRonald's uniform. 

"Hello and welcome." The young man said with a professional smile after Tatsuo approached the counter.. "Might I interest you in a Big Mig combo? They're on sale today. And if you add an orange cream shake, our featured item, that will be discounted, as well." 

Taking a moment to consider, Tatsuo eventually nodded his head. 

"Sure, I'll go with that." Tatsuo said with a smile. "Thanks for the suggestion." 

"Of course, Sir." The young man replied in a friendly tone. "Here at MgRonald's, we always aim to deliver our customers the best service." 

With that, the young man began punching Tatsuo's order into the cash register. Meanwhile, Tatsuo watched him intently. 

'That's definitely Maou Sadao.' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'And he's definitely different than a normal human. 'I can feel some kind of energy inside of him. I could feel something like that with Emi, too. But his is different… It feels…darker. Well, he is a demon and Emi is a half angel, so I guess that makes sense' 

"That comes to ¥1,361." The young man Tatsuo identified as Maou Sadao said, snapping Tatsuo out of his thoughts, after he finished ringing up the order. "Would you like to pay with cash or card?" 

"Card." Tatsuo replied as he pulled his mother's credit card out of his wallet. Then, as he handed the card to Sadao, he continued. "Thanks." 

"Oh, no. Thank you." Sadao replied with that same professional smile as he swiped the card. Then, once the payment was accepted, he handed the card back with two hands. "It went through with no problem. Please, have a seat and someone will bring your meal to you shortly." 

Nodding in response as he accepted the card back, Tatsuo turned around while putting the card away. Then, he sat down in a booth near the window. Before placing the bag containing his laptop on top of the bench next to him. 

"Well, now that I can finally sit down peacefully, I'll take a look at the [Dimensional Chat]." Tatsuo muttered to himself as he opened the [System] interface and opened the [Dimensional Chat] tab. 

{[Dimensional Chat] 

-Welcome to the [Dimensional Chat, Prince of the Void. 

-Should you choose to do so, the [Dimensional Chat] can be installed on a mobile device or computer. To do so, simply touch the device you wish to install the [Dimensional Chat] on, and select the install option in the [Settings] sub tab. 

-You have been named the administrator of the chat. 

-As the administrator, you have the right to temporarily ban members access to the chat, add files to the chat's [Information] folder, and to give members the privilege to add to the [Information] folder, as well. 

-As this is your first time joining the chat, it is recommended that you review the rules of the [Dimensional Chat].} 

"What kind of chuuni name is that?' Tatsuo muttered to himself as he dismissed the information window. "Seriously, Prince of the Void? How did they even come up with that? Anyway, it looks like the standard multiverse chat you see in fan fics. So, I guess I should be able to handle this with no problem." 

As he muttered to himself, Tatsuo looked over the [Dimensional chat] interface. 

{[Dimensional Chat] 

[Chat] [Members] [Shop] [Missions (1)] [Information] [Settings] [Notifications(1)]} 

"After seeing the sub tabs, Things are exactly the way I thought they'd be." Tatsuo muttered to himself. "First things first, though, let's change this name." 

{*Administrator* Prince of the Void has changed his Chat ID to "Tatsuo."} 

"Alright, now anyone who joins will never see my dark history." Tatsuo said while wiping an imaginary bead of sweat from his brow. Then he turned his attention back to the [System] interface. "It looks like there's already a mission. That was fast. But what's up with the notifications? I've only been here for a second. Is there another welcome message, or something?" 

When Tatsuo checked the [Notifications] sub tab, there was a message. But it was not a welcome message. And it read: 

{A new mission is available for the members of the [Dimensional Chat]} 

"I guess I should have expected that." Tatsuo muttered. 

Before he could check the mission, however, Tatsuo sensed someone approaching is table. 

Looking up, Tatsuo saw a short, about 4'11" tall, extremely curvaceous teenage girl appearing to be fifteen years old with large breasts, shoulder-length, light auburn hair tied into twin tails and large, ember eyes wearing the standard MgRonald's uniform And this girl was someone he recognized, as she was one of Tatsuo's classmates at his middle school. 

"Sasaki-San?" Tatsuo asked, feigning surprise. "I didn't know you worked here. Oh, no!" 

"Huh?" Sasaki, or Sasaki Chiho, was surprised that a customer called her by name. "Kya!" 

As a result of her surprise, Chiho stumbled, dropping Tatsuo's order as she did. Luckily, she was relatively close to the table where Tatsuo sat. So, he lunged forward and managed to catch the tray with his meal on it before it fell to the floor. 

"Got it…" Tatsuo muttered from a kneeling position as he raised his head to smile at Chiho. 

However, when he raised his head, Chiho's large breasts were right in front of his face, as she was bowing at the waist. 

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Chiho shouted in both embarrassment and panic with her eyes closed. 

"Chi-Chan, what's wrong?" Sadao shouted from the counter. 

A moment later, Maou ran around the counter and stopped next to Chiho, who was still bowing and firing off rapid fire apologies. 

"Chi-Chan, are you okay?" Sadao asked in a concerned tone. Then, he turned his attention towards Tatsuo, who was kneeling with his head only inches away from Chiho's breasts. A moment later, his expression contorted into anger. "Hey, what are you doing to Chi-Chan?" 

Immediately, Tatsuo's expression turned dumbfounded. Chiho, on the other hand, finally snapped out of her panicked state upon hearing Sadao's angry tone. Unfortunately, seeing Sadao question her classmate for something that was not his fault, she became even more panicked. 

For the next few seconds, Chiho, who had finally stood up straight tried to tell Sadao what happened, though, she was stuttering too much to help, Sadao berated Tatsuo about sexual harassment, and Tatsuo looked on in dumbfounded amazement. Eventually, the sound of heels clicking against the floor heralded the coming of a savior. 

"Maou-San, give it a rest, will you?" A tall woman standing at 5'10" with chest-length black hair tied into a ponytail that was draped over her left shoulder and bangs that covered her forehead as well as dark blue eyes wearing a MgRonald's manager's uniform said in an exasperated tone. "Instead of yelling at our customers, why don't you think about asking what happened? And considering the position this young man is in with a food tray in his hands, I'm pretty sure I can guess without anyone telling me." 

Immediately upon hearing the woman's voice, Sadao stopped yelling at Tatsuo. Then, he turned around and greeted the woman politely. 

"Manager-San." Sadao said while bowing politely. 

"Kisaki-San!" Chiho yelped in panic while shrinking back. 

"I'm not that scary, Chi-Chan." The woman, who was the manager of this branch of MgRonald's said in a tired tone. Then, she looked at Sadao as she continued. "And Maou-San, I've told you already, you can just call me Kisaki-San." 

"Yes, Manager… I mean, Kisaki-San." Sadao said as Chiho only nodded in response to the manager's, Kisaki Mayumi's, words. 

In response, Mayumi only sighed tiredly. Then, she turned her attention to Tatsuo, took a step forward, arriving at his side, and bent down to help him stand up. 

"I'm sorry about the actions of my employees, Sir." Mayumi said politely once Tatsuo was standing up. "And I'd like to thank you for helping Chi-Chan. AS an apology, and a thank you, Allow us to offer you an apple pie on the house." 

Naturally, that statement left Sadao, who jumped to conclusions dumbfounded. Meanwhile, Chiho only shrunk back when she was mentioned by name. Tatsuo, on the other hand, shrugged uncaringly now that he had regained his composure before accepting the offered apple pie and returning to his table to eat and check out the mission.