The Aftermath

" - so all in all, a satisfactory conclusion." The Voice rasps.

Huh? What's that you were talking about just now?

I blink my eyes a few times to clear away the cobwebs in my head and realize that I am sitting on the bike as The Voice ferries me back to the abandoned store. Strange, the last thing I remember was being turned into sandwich filling by two cars. Can't remember anything that happened in between then and now. Did I just lose time?

The next thing I feel is that my entire body hurts and the pain is far greater than what I experienced after the fight with the gangsters. Cold sweat is soaking through the ORPO uniform and my body involuntarily quivers in discomfort. There is a harsh metallic taste in my mouth. Blood. Was I spitting out blood just now?

I try to address The Voice but instead a groan of distress escapes from my mouth. The Voice notices this and says, "Do not try to speak if you cannot. Your body has suffered substantial damage from the battle. Not only were you smashed between two vehicles, towards the end of the fight, you cast several spells in a row far beyond their prescribed power levels. The core handled the drain easily, but the stress inflicted on Mr Gallant's body is another matter."

Spells? The only spell I know is the one Eagle Claw used in his attempt to run me through, and that is only because I was watching how his spirituality shifted while he was casting it. Something is wrong.

The Voice continues, "Still, you surprise me Transmigrator. I never had expected you to grasp the use of magic so quickly. To be able to cast battle magic on the fly without prior study, impressive indeed."

Something is seriously wrong.

The Voice rambles on, oblivious to my inner turmoil, "You managed to cast as if you had been studying magecraft your whole life. Is this the natural development of what you call a "cheat ability"? A talent that only an outsider to this world possesses? No wonder summoning outsiders to deal with problems big and small has become in vogue among my acquaintances."

I finally manage to gasp out, "I don't know what you are talking about."

The Voice stops talking, waiting for me to continue.

"Outside of physical enhancement and that spell I learned from the warehouse guard who tried to kill me, I don't know anything about magic." I manage to say through the discomfort.

The Voice pauses for a moment before responding, "Your knowledge of physical enhancement magecraft is part of the power set I provided you with. Tell me, do you consciously cast whenever you want to use that set of spells?"

"No?" I reply, "I just become stronger whenever I feel the need to become stronger. I'm not actually casting anything."

"Precisely. The knowledge I provided you with has been welded to your instincts. You do not know how you do it, much in the same way a bird does not how it flies. It just does. What happened at the end of the fight was different Transmigrator. You were deliberately, consciously casting magic. Magic that no one had ever taught you." The Voice rasps.

My throat goes dry as I hesitantly mutter, "I kind of spaced out at the end of the battle there. I only came to just now when you started talking to me."

The Voice remains silent as the bike covers the final stretch of road before arriving at the abandoned store. The bike's engine cuts off, plunging the surroundings into silence. By now, darkness has fallen on The City. Too late for most of the stores and offices to stay open and too early for the clubs and bars to hit full swing. That leaves me alone in the side street with only The Voice for company.

The Voice finally speaks after several moments worth of consideration, "Your ... malady, for the lack of a better term, needs to be investigated urgently. I have spawned a mattress in the abandoned store. You will stay here tonight while I repair your body and perform an in depth examination. Please roll the bike in as you enter."

"What happened with the Hero?" I ask while dismounting from the bike.

The Voice rumbles gently, "All went according to plan Transmigrator. A job well done."

....

Ken groans as I apply the gauze over his wounds. Look at both of us right now. We completely messed each other up. Good thing I keep a first aid kit in my room at the dorms. I start dabbing antiseptic over another set of lacerations on Ken's face and he hisses in pain. Looks like he is finally coming to. The fresh air seems to be doing some good. Letting Ken rest outside near the dorm's entrance was the right choice.

"There, all done." I finish treating the last of Ken's wounds and survey my work with satisfaction. I managed to stop the bleeding, but Ken had better get to a doctor for a check up. I did hit him pretty hard with that last blow. Now I can start treating my own wounds.

"Heya, Tensei! Guess who's back?" a bright, cheerful voice interrupts my work which quickly transitions into a shocked, "Oh my god! What happened?"

The shouting rouses Ken from his knocked out stupor and he blearily opens his eyes. "Whuh? An angel? A pretty angel ..." is the first thing that comes out of his mouth, his voice trailing off as he struggles to make sense of what is going on around him.

From fighting a duel of honor to ogling girls. Never change Ken.

I smile at the newcomer and say, "Hi Kirarin. Are you going to be back for long this time?"

A girl my age with her platinum blonde hair done up in twin tails pouts at me and plays idly with a lock of hair. Her green eyes have an expression of worry and concern as the halo of sparkles around her flit about in distress. Her tall, slender frame bends over both Ken and I as she scrutinizes my injuries.

"Its Kira, Tensei. Stop calling me by that stupid stage name. And look at yourself! You're hurt, you need medical help!" Kira exclaims.

Ken's voice drifts out again proclaiming, "Flat is justice..."

"Scratch that, both of you need help." Kira sighs in exasperation, "Wait here. My van should still be around. I will get the driver to send you two to a clinic."

I nod in thanks to Kira as she goes off back in the direction of the girls dorm.

....

Kira brings the executive van over and helps me load Ken into it. She then tells the driver to take us to a nearby doctor to have our wounds looked at. Under the doctor's healing magic, both Ken's and my wounds were quickly healed, apparently they just looked a lot worse than they really were. So now Ken and I were just lounging about in one of the treatment rooms, waiting for the healing process to complete. We were meant to spend the time resting.

Except that I had my hands full trying to placate a furious Kira who was glaring angrily at me. No rest for me it seems.

"So let me get this straight," Kira says her hands placed on her hips, "The two of you were fighting over a girl..."

"Not a girl! Not a girl!" I quickly cut in. Why is Kira getting the wrong idea here?

"A matter of honor." Ken clarifies, having regained his senses sometime back.

Kira raises an eyebrow, her tone absolutely frosty, "Oh. A matter of a maiden's honor? Was she flat, pervert?"

Ken deflates like a balloon and looks away embarrassed. Come to think about it, Celeste is pretty flat. Not as flat as Kira though. I would never ever say such a thing to either of them of course. I intend to keep living.

"No, just listen to me," I plead, "You heard how Celeste has been going around with that petition of hers? Well things got sort of out of hand."

That gets Kira's attention and I manage to give her the whole story. Ken just sits quietly by the side, occasionally grunting his acknowledgement of what I am saying.

When I finish the entire story, Ken finally interjects saying, "Right. So that's that then. You can tell your friend that I won't be seeking trouble with her from now on."

I heave a sigh of relief. Its over at last, but what about Mr Greer? Is Ken still going to go after him?

Ken continues, "You know, I thought you were just all talk. But you were really serious about that "protecting your friends" jazz huh? That last blow you gave me, how did you suddenly get so strong?"

I shake my head. Truth be told, I have no idea how I won the duel. Ken was handily smacking me about throughout most of it. It was as if during the fight, I broke through some kind of bottleneck and that allowed me to turn the tables on him. Chalk it up as one of the mysteries surrounding my spirit core. Growing it was never the problem, its just that I cannot get it to focus properly. My master at Uncle's place tried all kinds of training methods on me, but none of them worked. Sera also tried her hand at training me once I moved in with her family, but again there was not much result.

Not that all the training was useless though. It has really polished my fighting technique making me one of the better athletes in my age group, weird spirit core notwithstanding. Its also what allowed me to fend off Ken for so long despite the difference in our spirit power.

However, I could only count on luck to improve my spirit core. It would simply grow stronger out of the blue without any warning. Well, no sense in looking a gift horse in the mouth.

"What about Mr Greer?" I ask Ken.

Ken huffs angrily, "Him? I'll be settling scores with him soon enough. That new teacher can't hide forever."

"Can you just let it go?" I implore, "Enough people have gotten hurt already over this."

Ken sighs, "Well, you didn't abandon me in the Heath after knocking me out and treated my wounds. I wish I could say that all the members of my family would do the same thing for me. Fine. As long as that teacher kneels and shows the proper respect, I will forget the whole thing happened."

Relief floods my body. This is certainly the best outcome that could be achieved. I've managed to protect everyone.

Kira stares at me with a sad smile murmuring, "You really mean it do you? That you will protect your friends?"

Of course I mean it. My friends mean everything to me.

"That's how we met, all those years ago." Kira says with a far away look in her eyes, "Is it possible to leave behind the past?"

I look at Kira oddly and ask, "What are you talking about?"

Kira shakes her head and replies, "Oh, its nothing. Anyway, Tensei, I'll be staying for a while this time. My management company has a new owner and they have arranged for a series of concerts in The City. Also, I want to continue studying music under Mr Trietel. That man is a genius, did you know he is one of the few that can weave magic into a song?"

Ken suddenly pipes up from his side of the room, "Hey, aren't you that idol singer Kirarin?"

Kira graces Ken with a smile and nods saying, "Would you like a ticket to the upcoming concert?" She then turns to me, "Tensei, you are invited too of course."

"Sure. Sounds great." I reply happily.

Kira claps her hands while leaving the room saying, "Well, that's settled. And it looks like its also time for you two to leave the clinic as well. I'll go call the van to take us back."

Ken quickly demurs, "Nah, that's fine. I can call a car to pick me up. You two go ahead." He then clasps my hand and shakes it hard, whispering to me, "Get me her autograph, 'kay?"

I stare at him completely speechless. Is Ken an idol fan?

"Please don't tell anyone." he mumbles with a red face.