Chapter Seven - [World: Mob Psycho 100]

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Pov - Lee

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I was In the middle of the forest with no real supplies aside from the small kit I had made before jumping into the rift. Honestly, I had hoped to appear in the city or something, not a dark, damp cave with a creepy ghost.

"S-So hot," I said as the lush forest slowed my descent. "Must be the middle of summer or something..."

There were plenty of bugs, weird critters, and animals here. Most stayed away, but a few were brave enough to try and take a bite out of me. Honestly, If Fim hadn't warned me, I never would have seen the prowling mountain lion. It leapt out from my blindspot and nearly took a chunk out of my neck. Thankfully, I wasn't the quivering mess from before. Though I'd only been in three real fights since I got these powers, I was a quick learner.

I kept myself tall and locked eyes with the beast. All I needed was a moment, and a moment I got. Without a sign, Fim's invisible energy smashed into the mountain lion's face. It let out a hiss and stepped back, but I definitely wasn't about to just let it get away so it could try again. I gave it another wallop, and this time, it was knocked on its ass. A second or two later it was back on its feet, but I could see the look in its eyes. It shrunk away from me and bolted into the thicket.

"Very efficient," Fim said, dropping down onto my shoulder. "You have a lot of ways to improve, but for now, your use of my abilities are very effective."

I gave him a nod and turned back toward the distant city. Climbing down a mountain was not fun and my legs were already starting to get a tiny bit sore. There wasn't anywhere else for miles, so I just had to deal with it.

"Thanks," I said with a sigh. "Please let me know if you spot any other animals trying to sneak up on me."

Fim gave an acknowledging nod and then hoped off my shoulder, back into the air.

"I must say, this place is quite a bit more pleasant to look at than your home."

"Yeah, a lot of people like nature over the big city." There was just a sense of serene and tranquillity that the bustling streets and cars couldn't ever hope to match.

I opened my palm and reached out for the newest power in my arsenal. It wasn't much now, but it would grow, just like everything else. The heat hovering over my palm vanished as a frigid mist began to billow out. The moisture in the air flash froze and a waterbottle-sized spike of ice appeared above my hand. When I first tried it out, I expected gravity to take hold and drag it down. Curiously, so long as I was focused on the ice, I could keep it hovering.

The sun's warm rays washed over my body and I continued to walk. The spike of ice followed, floating just above my palm. This was the simplest form of "practice" I could come up with right now. Keeping the spikes fully formed took a bit of concentration, so why not try and walk while doing that? Admittedly, it was a bit dangerous, but this whole trip was mindnumbing.

In the corner of my eye, I saw a big rock. Another target. I took a small breath, pulled my hand back, and let the spike fly as I swung. Like a javelin of ice, it cut through the air and pierced the boulder. Parts of its tip shattered and broke off, but on close inspection, it definitely got some penetration.

"Crude, but still lethal from what I've seen of living beings so far."

Yeah. If something like this hit a person, it'd be like getting hit with a spear.

I walked away, measuring each step and cautiously looking at the ground. The last thing I want is to step on a snake or something. Either way, with a thought I summon up another ice spear. This time, I make it just in front of my chest as I keep my arms down. It takes a bit longer and throwing it is a lot harder, but it works. Suddenly, an idea comes to mind. I make yet another spear, this time wrapping golden energy around it.

"Let's see if this works."

I send a small charge of force toward the spear's rear. I was hoping that the added energy would send it flying much faster, but instead, it explodes in my face. Sharp, tiny shards of ice fly in all directions. The bark of the tree in front of the spear is shredded and dozens of tiny needles pincushion the wood. Thankfully, most of the damage is in front of me. The few shards that rain past my face miss me entirely. The worst I get is a tiny nick on my ear.

"Ok... that was dumb." Still, I now had an ice shotgun. It'd likely hurt me, but not as bad as the thing I'd aim it at.

Physics wasn't my best subject, but I really expected that to work differently!

"Well, you've got quite a bit of time to practice," Fim hums. "The city is still far away."

I groan.

"Don't remind me."

How long was this going to take?

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Eventually, we did arrive in the city. The sky was a deep orange and the wind that flowed through the streets was cool and refreshing. People that passed me gave me odd looks. The reason was obvious.

This was Japan, wasn't it? Foreigners were kind of a spectacle and I obviously didn't look Asian. Actually... could I even speak Japanese?

Fim answered that question right quick.

"I simply need some references and I should be able to give you the knowledge. Perhaps there's some sort of database with their words and such that you could find?"

A dictionary, huh? I really didn't think this through...

I sighed and nodded.

Time to go find one of those.

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Alone and without any idea where I was, there really wasn't much I could actually do. I knew what I wanted, but getting around without being able to communicate would make that so much harder.

"I suppose trial and error is a good way to go about this," Fim hums as he reads my mind. "Do you mind If I pick?"

If I wanted to hunt down ghosts and use their essence to boost my powers, I'd need someone else's help. Of course, that meant asking.

"Sure," I said with a sigh. "Just don't pick anyone that looks like they'll kick my ass."

Powers or not, a punch was still enough to drop me. One straight to the face could even kill a man if they were unlucky. Me? I was more worried about swallowing my teeth, though.

"I have chosen!" Fim announces. "That older female over there, the one with the corrective lenses!"

I blinked, scouring the busy streets. There, right in front of a bookstore was a woman with casual clothing. She had bundled her lush, brown hair up into a small bun and was busy staring at the bookstore entrance. As Fim said, she had a pair of glasses. They were the old-school type of thing, the ones with big circular lenses that kids might get made fun of for. It gave an odd image, seeing a woman dressed in fancy dress just standing out in front of an old bookstore.

"I guess she's as good as anyone," I mumbled and carefully crossed the street. As I drew closer and closer to the stranger, my heart began to race. These new powers of mine helped boost my confidence, but not by all that much. Talking to others was still a bit difficult, especially beautiful older women. Still, I wasn't about to turn tail and run. No one knew me here, which meant I could make as much of a fool of myself as I wanted.

I casually strolled up to the woman and cleared my throat, drawing her attention.

"H-Hello." The greeting came out with a stutter and practically made my cheeks burst into flames. She probably didn't even know what I was saying!

"Can you help me with something?"

She turned her gaze away from the bookstore and then to me. Her eyes narrowed as if she were trying to solve some difficult puzzle.

"My name's Lee, by the way."

Come on! Speak! All she needs to do is talk for Fim to work his magic!

Finally, she said something. It might as well be gibberish to me, but it was something to work with.

"Help?" That I understood. "You? Help?"

I grinned and nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes! Do you know English? I'm trying to find somewhere to stay the night." A hotel would do. The sun was already starting to set and I had at least a hundred dollars in my wallet. Whether they took my money or not was a different problem, but worst case I could just go to a bank and exchange it.

The woman smiled softly and nodded.

"I help," she extended her hand as if I were some lost child. "Come!"

If I was nervous before, then this made me embarrassed. A small, awkward chuckle left my lips.

"I don't need to hold my hand. It's ok. You can just keep talking to me and that'll help me." Not that she'd understand what I was saying.

Apparently, she wasn't having any of that. She reached forward and grabbed my hand.

"I helping!" Without hesitation, she started walking and tugging me along. "Help. Good."

I nearly fell as she took off. Had Fim picked someone with a few screws loose or was this just how people acted over here? Maybe it was a thing that had to do with this "world?" Either way, she was having none of my protests. Her hands were soft and tender and just touching them made my blush rise in intensity.

This was not normal. Holding hands was a bit embarrassing, yeah, but It felt like we were about to kiss!

"Fim, what the hell is going on?!"

I hissed mentally. My stalwart companion blew a hum, hovering in the air. He started to turn until his head was pointing to the ground.

"It's a universal constant," he finally said. "It seems that physical contact with the opposite gender produces large bouts of the emotion you call 'embarrassment' within certain types of individuals."

"Wait, what? So, like it's an actual law of the universe or something?!"

He nodded.

"It's strange, but I don't see how it could be a problem. If given enough time, I can make you immune to its effects. Such things are easy enough to accomplish."

I didn't know what was more amazing, the fact that hand-holding made people blush like in anime was a litteral law of physics or something or the fact that Fim could just let me ignore those very laws.

Whatever the case, the overly-friendly lady eventually leads me to a police station. She kept clamouring about helping me, though I did entice her to say other words. By the time we arrived, Fim had heard enough to make a rudimentary translation package and beam it straight into my head.

"If you need else, please no afraid to say." She told me with a friendly smile.

The two of us stood in front of the police station. The young officer looked at me with a curious smile then traded a few words with the woman. Apparently, she thought I was some lost foreigner. She was hoping he could help get me to the American embassy. I guess I did look pretty American but was it racist that she suddenly jumped on that?

"Actually, I'm more looking for a place to stay," I told the woman. By now, the strange sensation in my chest was gone. It probably had to do with the fact we weren't holding hands anymore. I don't know what she heard, but a look of surprise and then joy crossed her face.

"I can help!" she said cheerfully. "You sleep my place? Or need hotel?"

Wait...

"Are you saying you'll let me sleep at your house?"

That was crazy. Was this woman that trusting?

She smiled.

"Yes!"

The officer gave her a look much similar to my own. He whispered a few things into her ear, causing her to shake her head and wave him off.

"So? Me or hotel? Which like?" She said with a small smile.

...

This is weird...