10.3
part 3
Rain fell like a translucent screen over Nerima's night, droplets like pebbles hitting the ground with loud, distinctive splashes. It was a heavy, dark rain, but even then, the clouds weren't able to entirely hide the luminescence of the unusually bright full moon.
The tallish young man circled the street with patient steps, uncaring to how the water darkened the bottom of his kendogi. A traditional umbrella spun softly on his palm as he took a deep, closed-eyed breath and opened a small yet noble smile
"So, it has come to this. I should have expected."
The young man chuckled, the levity of his tone contrasting with the rightful tension growing across his form.
His eyes snapped open, his glare piercing like a soldier's spear on a fierce battlefield bathed by moonlight.
"You have finally shown your true colors, eh? Attacking me at my own home!" He threw the umbrella to the side, letting the rain fall over his warrior form while he theatrically draws his bokken. "Saotome's dark wizard! Prepare to die!"
In retrospect, this might not have been the best idea.
"Ok, Kuno-senpai, first; I didn't come here to attack you, nor have I, technically, come to your house; we're still by the front door. Second, you're the one who attacked me first, remember? Without warning or provocation, might I add… And from the rooftop too…"
"Silence, scum! Why else would you come if not to perpetuate your master's dark designs! I, Kuno Tatewaki, Furinkan's Indigo Falcon, will put a stop to that! En guard!"
My logic was sound. I swear it was. It was pretty late when I left Furinkan to check on Kodachi, so I thought there was a possibility that she'd already gone back home, and with her home being closer than her school, I decided to go there first. Plus, I only wanted to see if she was all right and not planning something silly; if she was there, then I could just finish up for the night and go home myself.
Kuno continued to attack, each of his swings cutting the air with violent sounds, leaving deadly trails of air behind, I continued to dance and wave between his attacks. Ranma had commented something about Kuno being the most dangerous when he tries for ambushes or uses unconventional moves born from his rage, but being no problem to deal with in a straight fight. According to him, when Kuno is fighting directly, he tends to fall back to the principles of kendo and nothing but that; anybody who was familiar with the basics of the style and could match him physically would be able to see his every move.
This was not the first time I fought Kuno, but this was the first time I fought him directly and alone, and… I could see where Ranma's coming from. After a week of unconventional Anything Goes training, and an even longer period of time fighting multiple yokai with their own set of strange movements, Kuno felt… almost robotic in his execution.
"Kuno-senpai, can you please stop?" I said to him while I dodged. "I'm not here to fight. I just came to see how Kodachi's doing."
"NANI!"
He cuts the rain in a horizontal slash that carried so much strength the aftershock was almost physical. I leaped over the attack and flipped as I passed over his head, landing behind him in basically the same position that I was when I jumped, only facing the opposite direction.
A bokken was pointed at my face within moments.
"So your aim is my own sister, and to refer to her with such familiarity!" Kuno was trembling in anger. Crap, I was thinking about her as her anime character, so I slipped. "You cretin!"
"Hold on— Hold on, damn it!" I leaped back from his crazy swings. "I just wanna know if she's alright! Her whole team is in the hospital, aren't they!?"
"Silence, demon! You'll regret the day you provoked the wrath ofFurinkan's Indigo Falcon! Kuno style, Eighth forbidden Technique: HEAVENLY RETRIBUTION!!!"
Kuno's special technique… was just another of his normal swings; he just added a useless flare to it.
What a waste of time.
Rather than dodging, I stepped into his reach, my hand trailing with an aquamarine smoke of condensed mana as I strike my open palm against his oncoming swing. At the exact moment of impact, I released the Mana Bolt carrying a load of concussive force.
To Kuno's credit, he didn't let go of his bokken, but because of that, both his arms were violently blown upwards, and his whole body almost left the ground, leaving the entire front of his torso open and unprotected. Capitalizing on that, I twisted on my heels, quickly raising a curled leg before unleashing a brutal kick directly at his solar plexus.
Kuno flew backward, his body already practically airborne before I even applied the impact, his flailing foot brushed against the ground, tipping his trajectory and making him crash land on the wet pavement, where he rolled to a stop.
I opened my hand to catch his falling bokken before making my way to the fallen, now coughing boy.
"I win," I said out loud to make things clear; I've noticed that martial artists tend to listen to you more after defeating them. According to Ranma, this is actually a thing; something about some pre-school logic about doing what the winner says. "Now tell me where Kodachi is."
Kuno let out some wheezing sounds, gasping for air as he recovered from the impact. His body turned to the side in a subconscious attempt to get out of direct rain. I kept his own bokken trailed over him the entire time.
"You… Foul…Ku…kuku…" He finally breathed out, curling over in pain as he tried to laugh. "Your plans for Kodachi has been foiled… My twisted sister is still in practice at her school."
"Practicing? At night!? With her whole team in the hospital?" I asked incredulously. Sure, there was a tournament coming, but would she even be able to participate missing her whole team.
"Kukuku, you underestimate… A Kuno's tenacity!"
He timed his triumphant declaration to what would have been his table-turner, that said, I could see it coming a mile away, having used the same tactic against Ranma in more than a few occasions. It was easy to sidestep is rising lunge just as it was easy to dodge the following combo of punches and kicks he used in the attempt to get his weapon back.
"Didn't know you could fight unarmed," I commented, stepping back while keeping the bokken on my shoulder and away from his reach. "You really should stop now."
"Fool! I will not rest until you receive your due punishment! Now die!"
Ah man, I don't want to fight Kuno anymore. It feels like bullying at this point.
With a sigh, I took the bokken and held it as if it was my baseball bat. I'm just gonna knock Kuno's lights out and end this.
"Tatewaki-sama!" A voice interjected before I could advance.
A bit to the side of where Kuno and I were facing each other, a small, crouching figure wearing a dark outfit that made him blend to the darkness surprisingly well, appeared out of nowhere. I couldn't help it but blink when I saw his face; wide, expressive eyes, very bushy eyebrows, a pair of naruto-like whiskers in each cheek… Frankly, it was the goofiest face I ever saw.
It took me a second to recognize him as Kuno's little ninja from the show, Sasuke or something. I remember Rin commenting about his presence when she was dealing with the traps Kodachi left for theFurinkan's Rhythmic Gymnastics team. She'd described him as 'remarkably slippery'.
"Sasuke! How dare you interrupt my duel!" Kuno shouts him down immediately.
It was then I realized how agitated the little guy looked; twitching impatiently, ragged breathing, eyes wide and alarmed.
"A thousand pardons Tatewaki-sama! But I bring grave new and—"
"Where is Kodachi?" I asked suddenly, giving voice to the bad feeling growing inside my chest.
"Gah! Who are you!?" The ninja gasped as if noticing me for the first time.
"Bastard! How dare you address my retainer!"
"Never mind that!" Snapped Sasuke, "Tatewaki-sama, please listen! I…I was feeling unease with how long Kodachi-sama was taking in her practice, so I decided to check and—Oh Tatewaki-sama, Kodachi-sama is… Kodachi-sama is…"
"What is it, Sasuke?" Kuno leaned in.
"Kodachi-sama is—"
"Oh, quit the dramatic anime pause and just tell us already!" This time I was the one who snapped.
-0-0-0-
Nerima blurred around me as I rushed forwards with all my speed, my steps splashing over the deep puddles created by the now fading rain.
I frowned at the next intersection, which would force me out of the direct route until the next turn unless I started breaking my way through buildings like Hibiki Ryoga would do. Taking a split-second decision, I accelerated instead, leaping over the wall when I was just about to crash on it, and landing on the rooftop of the following house.
Rooftop travel is something I'm still struggling to master. Well, the martial artist version of it anyway. I can do it, and it was just as exhilarating as I'd imagined it being the first few times, but I can't figure out the little nuances that allow for fluid movements and no collateral damage. If I limited myself to a civilian level, I could do it without a problem, aided by no small amount by my Parkour skill, but when I try to roof hop like a martial artist would, that is: with way longer jumps, practically bouncing where they land to the point of spending only one step per roof, all I leave behind are wanton destruction.
Case in point, everywhere I landed, cracks appeared and tiles exploded. I honestly feel for the people living there, but this is an emergency.
'Ranma', I considered for a moment, but quickly discarded the thought. Tendo's household was way out of the way, and by what Sasuke had described, every second counts.
Another passing thought questioned why I was going all this length for Kodachi of all people and without a quest reward to back me up too. I easily crush that thought because it was very silly.
Anyone visiting Nerima would easily see this was a city of low buildings. The best we have are some governmental offices with six to seven floors and the city hall, which has around eight; the rest rarely went beyond two or three. This meant that, on the rooftops, the vista stretches practically unobstructed for a far distance, and it also meant that any buildings with four or more floors seemed like towering landmarks.
St. Hebereke's School for Girls quickly entered my vision… And I had to pause in my steps to gasp my shock.
Part of the building shone against the dark of the night.
Sasuke landed beside me, huffing and puffing by the effort of matching my pace. He'd done a better job than Kuno, who, giving the distant cries of outrage, was ground-bound.
"Ahh! I-It's on fire!" He cried in distress.
I took a moment to consider the situation; the school wasn't entirely on fire, just some parts on the back and side, but the flames were clear to see even at a distance. The lights and sounds of a fire truck were quickly approaching from a street in the back. They would be there within moments.
My first instinct was to hurry the fuck up. Fire, people might be in danger, sounded simple, right?
… It would be if it weren't for the familiar, blaring feeling twitching over my shoulders and back of my head, a chill so unnaturally precise I could even see the direction of the cause.
And it was creeping away from the building.
"N-No good! We have to— Ōe-sama? Ōe-samaaa!!?"
I wasted no time adjusting my direction. I wanted to have a look on whoever or whatever was triggering my supernatural senses; this feeling reminds me too much of the one I felt back at Shiori's temple.
The change in direction did not take me completely away from the burning school, as whatever was causing it still fairly close. Just a few more leaps and turns and the urban cover gave away to a roaring flash of bright pink and white.
I saw red.
"WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING!?"
I fell over the thing leg first in a meteoric dynamic entry that would've made me worthy of a green spandex if this were a hidden village. I felt a crack beneath my feet before it was blown away in an animalistic cry of pain.
Pain flared in my leg from the backlash of the maneuver, but I easily ignored that, focusing instead on the thing standing up from the rubble of a half-collapsed wall.
A mostly humanoid body covered with toned muscles and pink fur, a pair of digitigrade legs ending in large animal paws, an enormous mane of alabaster white that puffed around its head and shoulders, a beastly face with just enough humanity in it to look uncanny. It was a cross between a woman and a large feline, clearly tending to a more bestial side.
Slitted green eyes regarded me with pure hatred before it roared a challenge.
Falion
Cardian of The Chariot.
Level 29.
"FALION!!!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know that, you pokemon-sounding motherfucker." I muttered under my breath.
A Cardian, the same creature as Minon— no, the same creature as that monstrous version that Minon used to be.
Another monster of the same type, a pattern…
It doesn't matter.
"I have your name and face now, bitch." I stated while the growling thing sized me up. I could see the wound I left on her left shoulder and the difficulties she's having moving her arm. Ideally, I would press on this advantage.
But Kodachi's life was more important, the burning building is more important.
"I'll fucking come for you," I promised, preparing to leave and continue my way to the school.
A small voice stopped me in my tracks.
"Ah… Ah… Senpai?... You certainly… You certainly know how to make an entrance."
… Turning away from an enemy is always a bad idea, especially one so bestial-looking as this creature. Even so, after hearing this voice, I could not ignore it, so I look back for the briefest of seconds.
Haruka looked back from where she was standing in the middle of the street. Her whole body shaking as she loudly pulled gasping breaths, her middle school uniform clung so tightly to her sweaty form that it was almost a second skin, the nearly see-through parts contrasting heavily with the blood red from the torn gashes in the shape of claw marks. Her legs trembled under her, both for exhaustion and from the strain of the weight she was carrying.
And that weight was none other than Kuno Kodachi, who was slumped over Haruka's body piggyback style. The gymnastics champion blinked dumbly at my direction with a heavily clouded stare.
… I see… —I get the picture now: they were attacked, they ran, and the thing chased.
"Did that little guy find you?" Haruka wheezed out the question.
"Something like that." I looked back to the pink furry monster and watched as she suddenly froze on her imminent lunge. "Nice work, Haruka. I'll take it from here."
"Falion!" The monster roared as she overcame her trepidations and leaped forwards in a direct attack.
New quest—
I snapped the accept button with one hand while pulling my baseball bat out of the inventory with the other. I can imagine what the thing was expecting when she threw all her musclebound form full of claws and fangs at me, and I'm proud to say that I promptly dashed those expectations by bashing her out of the sky with a brutal hit right on her injured side.
She bounced meaty against the pavement, letting out a pained yowl. I was immediately onto her.
I'm really glad for all those days I spent fighting Yokai, because let me tell you, a supernatural creature, especially one that is less humanoid than most, does not move as a martial artist does. This might sound obvious, but Ranma had talked my ears off with tales of talented martial artists who lost their lives fighting a bear, or a platypus. Apparently, they are the equivalent of cautionary tales to the community. Point is; feral creatures move differently, and you have to keep that in mind when fighting an animal.
This principle also works when fighting Yokai as not all of them know martial arts. This monster in particular was like a mix between a humanoid Yokai and a tiger, nothing I haven't seen before.
"FAGHHH!!" She screamed as I managed to dodge all her attacks and lay a hit on her injury. There was a loud crunch in the area and her left arm went limp.
Her next move was to try to leap back, to which I responded by catching her tail and pulling her back, my bat raising and descending in three vicious strikes across her back, each driving her to the ground and producing pained gasps.
She rolled to her back, entering a belly-showing stance of feline aggression, but before she could use all her four sets of claws I kicked her entire body out the ground and struck her back down with my bat. She gurgled her catchword and tried to run again, but I stomped over her kneecap and kicked her face to disorient her. All throughout this process, my bat flew up and down as I single-handily broke her bones and crushed her body with an almost mechanical efficiency.
I was so focused on hurting her; on making her pay for every injury she left on Haruka… That I almost didn't hear the loud 'ping' echoing above me. I definitely heard Haruka, though.
"WATCH OUT!"
Her shout made me freeze for a moment, just enough for the Cardian to twist her bloody muzzle and open her maw unnaturally wide.
"FALION!"
This roar was accompanied by a jet stream of a purple, almost ghostly energy. I had just enough time to shield my face before I was hit in the front and pushed back by its sheer intensity.
Agony flared across my arm and whatever part of my body it touched. My Jacket and shirt started to burn away, my exposed skin began to blister. I ground my teeth together and push the pain to the back of my mind, frantically trying to work out a solution from this predicament that didn't involve rolling out of the way and letting the attack wash over to the girls behind my back.
Following my instincts, I immediately emitted a large quantity of Mana from my torso; trying to give it shape and intention at the same time like I did the first time I used it, this time to create a shield rather than an exploding sphere. Within moments it became clear that the pain of being slowly burned alive was making it hard to concentrate, so I discarded the plan for another, cruder but more immediate solution.
New Skill Created: Elemental Resistance: Fire lvl 01.
Increases your natural resistance against fire, decrease the harmful effects of fire and heat, take less damage from fire attacks.
And once again, the beautiful, beautiful Gamer system made my life infinitely easier. I smiled as the decrease in pain and damage let me concentrate my mana more easily, making it rise through my defending arm until it focused in my hand, then I quickly pointed it to the heart of the fiery beam releasing my own stream of concentrated mana to counteract the Cardian's.
What followed was one minute of a locked energy beam battle that you would see in Dragon Ball or Harry Potter. It wasn't really as fun being a participant of it as it was to witness from the side, it was mostly just keeping your arm raised, keeping the energy going, and trying to hold back the pressure from the opposing power. At least I wasn't on fire anymore.
I felt the pressure of the enemy's beam lessen as her energy started to run out, so I raised my other hand and formed a fully shaped Mana bolt in my palm, all while making a show of also losing steam. When both beams run out and all that was left was the bright, residual energy over the street, I responded to the Cardian's death glare with a Mana bolt to the face.
"FGAH!" The thing cried out. I doubt she was expecting me to use magic right after I finished counteracting her beam. Well, tough shit, there is more where that comes from.
So I picked up my bat and restarted the brutalization of the Cardian, this time magically and from a distance, just to show I fucking could.
The things cried and moaned in agony as explosions wrecked her body and the area surrounding her. Booms echoed, pavement cracked, blood poured, all that good shit.
By the end, I paused, letting the dust settle to show the broken, burned form of the now unmoving Cardian. I placed my bat over my shoulders and walked over to bash its head open just to make sure it was really dead because I sure as hell wasn't about to assume and turn my back to it.
It was only then that I noticed the creaking sound.
A couple of meters above where the battle took place, there was a… ghostly wheel thingy? It was hovering in place, slowly spinning. It reminded me a lot of a piece of a ghostly pirate ship I'd seen in every cartoon show.
The thing was so out of the left field that I had to stop and assault it with an incredulous look— What the fuck?
"Senpai! That thing's—" I heard Haruka cry out before the wheel snapped into place with a loud 'ping'. My eyes widened when I recognized the sound.
"FALION!" The broken monster surged to her feet, golden energy flaming over her form, seemly reinvigorating her. She moved with a speed she wasn't displayed before and tacked me to the ground. Her claws digging deep into my biceps as she pinned me in place.
I watched as the wounds on her snarling face knit themselves close, and the growing swelling noticeably diminished.
Self-healing, Fuck!
She lunged for my neck, and I threw my head to the side to let her plant her face in the ground. Using my strength, I surged upwards and drew her into a grappling match. At this distance, there was no way to prevent her claws from gashing my skin a few times, but despite the pain, I quickly managed to lock the inexperienced monster into a submission hold, my superior strength more than enough to hold her down while she thrashed like an animal.
Two instances of fucking up my imminent victory had me playing attention on the hovering wheel, which had begun spinning again. This time I nearly cursed when I heard the next ping.
Fuck. No.
I threw my body to the side, putting my back to the ground and dragging the snarling monster with me. With a direct view of the wheel above, I triggered the skill I'd gotten from the Slime Queen's loot. In the same instant, my Mana surged up, following the Gamer System's automatic control, and twisted inside itself in a way I couldn't even begin to describe to shape a particular effect/element.
Acid Spit lvl 03
One of nineteen steps needed to become a Space Marine.
It was one of those skills that sounded lame and simple until you took a moment to think of all the way how it could be useful in real life, plus it came with a bonus of enhancing my spit distance.
The effects of the wheel were just starting to activate when the acid hit it. To my surprise, it broke apart by the impact alone, the corrosive effect not needed.
The Cardian screamed in my hold, her body arching and coiling like it was struck by lightning or was suffering the effect of an extremely high voltage, I could feel her strength practically disappearing as mine revitalized. Almost without thinking, I took advantage of that to get a better hold, ready for her to—
"C-Cleansing!" She suddenly gurgled out from my sleeper hold. It was surprising to hear her talking after all those animal noises, that and the fact I was putting a hell of a lot of pressure on her throat.
Her body bust out in black flames, and I flinched, throwing her remains to the side and getting to my feet in one smooth movement, but I couldn't feel any heat from this particular fire.
Oh right, when I killed Minon's previous incarnation, what was her name again? She also burned away in black fire; maybe it's a common trait among Cardians.
Quest completed.
2000 exp
Your relationship with Tenou Haruka has increased.
Your relationship with Kuno Kodachi has vastly increased.
Closing the quest screen, I retrieved my bat and finally turned to address the audience.
Haruka had placed a still unresponsive Kodachi on the sidewalk, leaning against one of the walls of one of the residential buildings. And Haruka herself was standing close, her… wide eyes looking over my form.
"Ah." I breathed out, suddenly embarrassed as I remember my own lingering injuries. I had become surprisingly good at blocking off pain to the point I almost didn't notice after a while, something about the certainty that I'd be fine no matter what if I was alive by the end helped with that fact.
To be fair, it wasn't that bad, just ruined clothes, some burns, and a few claw marks here and here. Haruka's own claw marks looked much deeper.
"This is nothi—"
"Don't… say that." Haruka's voice hiccupped before her tone lowered almost to a whisper. She was avoiding my gaze. "… It's not nothing."
I…
Ah…
The distant sounds of the fire-truck's sirens reminded me of the burning school. I cast a brief look at that direction to see red light beaming over the buildings, but no signs of the brightness of the fire. I turned back to the girls; Kodachi was looking fixedly at us, Haruka looked about to collapse.
… The professionals can deal with the fire.
-0-0-0-
You have found a special magitech artifact of Alien Origin.
Do you wish to assimilate it into the gamer system?
Yes/No
I let the Card lazily drift between finger to finger as I sat there in a clean corner of Doc Tofu's clinic.
Another monster that could only say its name and leaves a card that my game system identifies as 'Alien Origin' when killed. It was the exact same situation as Minon's.
But what does this mean? My game calls them Alien, or at least, say they are of Alien origin. Frankly after all I've seen Aliens aren't much of a stretch, but regardless of their origins I can't see the reason to why attack people like that, I mean, first they attack in a highly defensive temple and no doubt produced the ire and attention of the local supernatural community, and next they attack a school!? Do they want attention? Maybe make a statement?
Both attacks were targeting someone; at the temple it was Ena, and now… considering that it attacked the school at night and that it chased them afterward…
I look up to the bed where Kodachi was lying; she fell fully unconscious on our way here, forcing me to carry her the rest of the way, now she wasn't waking up, but Doc said there wasn't anything physically wrong with her, just exhaustion.
Was Kodachi the target this time? Or…
I let out a sigh and looked over to where Doc was treating Haruka's injuries.
There are still too many pieces missing on this puzzle.
"There, Tenou-san." The Doc spoke, finishing tying the bandages around her arm. "They aren't as bad as they seem, but I'm still surprised you'd get attacked by a tiger of all things!"
I couldn't help but cringe a little at the excuse we came up with, I was hoping the nature of the injuries would give some credit to it… and that Doc wouldn't notice the difference. But apparently, something happened to the zoo today and some animals escaped, so 'being attacked by a tiger' is a lot more believable tonight then it would have been at any other time.
I wonder if Ranma had anything to do with it.
"Yes, Ono-sensei," Haruka replied, testing her hand's grip to see how the bandages flexed on her arm. "Thank you for your treatment."
"It will be enough for the wounds." Doc nodded. "But you still have to go to a hospital to get proper treatment. I'll call your parents and get you trans—"
"Eh!" She cried out, and I also looked up from my weird magical card. "Um, can't I just go home?"
Doc Tofu frowned the frown of a responsible adult who's trying to be reasonable. I hated when the genuinely good people did that; they give it a validity like you wouldn't believe.
"Tenou-san, you've been attacked by a wild animal. It'd be irresponsible of me to let you walk away after a few patches."
"I'm fine, really. Look!" She pulled herself off her bed, wincing slightly but noticeably as the full weight of her wounds made themseves know without adrenaline to bear the brunt. "I'm fine." She argued again.
Doc Tofu's righteous frown was now accompanied by a sad look that said he could see through all her lies and just want to help, now stop being a stubborn young lady you must receive all the care in the— Goddamn he's good.
"Ono-sensei, if I may." I stood from where I sat. "Haruka had a stressful night. She just wants to get to her home and rest for a bit. I'll escort her there and make sure she gets to a hospital tomorrow, I promise. Just please, let her leave."
"Please," Haruka added.
That argument did not persuade him; I knew that I could see that. But he must have realized that there was more to it than we were saying. In the end, his shoulders dropped in acceptance.
"Alright, just this time. I'll leave her to you Ōe-san." I could feel the trust he placed on me for that, I appreciate it.
As we were leaving, I stopped by Kuno Tatewaki's prone form at the clinic's front entrance. He, of course, stirred at my presence and used his bokken to try to rise to his feet.
"Damn you, wizard! I will make you pay for what you did to—"
"I did nothing to Kodachi," I said for the hundredth time and knew he wasn't going to listen. "Anyway, I'll be going now, but I'm going to be really pissed if you try to start shit in Ono-sensei's place in my absence, so you better make like Sasuke and behave yourself, understand?"
"The great eagle of Furinkan always flies high, and it always strikes down his foes! En guard, monster!" Without listening, he got to his feet and tried to fight like he's been doing for the past hour or so.
At this point, I'm just trying to trash him while being mindful of the noise to not bother the neighbors. This time was no different. I hope that with me gone he would actually visit his recuperating sister rather than, in his words, 'Getting rightful revenge!!'
The nights in Nerima are far from being dark; the lack of intense urban centers and the people's tendency to go to bed early kept light pollution to a minimum, so, if not covered by clouds, the nights here are usually bright and full of stars, tonight this was particularly true with the towering brightness of the full-moon adding to the vision.
Haruka and I made our way through the street slowly and quietly. I'd offered the girl my shoulder to lean on, and even carry her, but she just waved it off and continued fighting through the pain.
The long stretches of silence were… uncomfortable, and the worst thing was this wasn't even solely the result of tonight.
All throughout this week the girl's been distancing herself from me. Before, I frequently met her during my morning jogs, and we could easily talk and joke all the way to her school, but then our conversations started to lose steam, silence became more frequent, and I sometimes caught these looks from her… yesterday was the first time she didn't show up since I've met her.
What happened at the illusion barrier shook her more than I'd initially thought, and I don't blame her; even if she didn't get hurt, getting introduced to the supernatural that way would have shaken anybody, and to discover right after that the friends she's been making were deeply involved in it mustn't have helped.
Now there was this thing with the Cardian.
"So, hum, what... How did you end up in that situation?" I asked hesitantly, trying to break the silence. I don't know if it was the right thing to ask, and it probably wasn't, but I had to say something.
The girl didn't answer at first, just kept looking ahead. I was about to beat myself by the choice of subject when she spoke.
"I was keeping an eye on Kodachi; I told you I would. She's just as unhinged as the rumors said, but then her team started to disappear…" She trails off.
… I don't know what it was worse, the fact she spoke so mechanically, or the fact she got involved in all of that because of me.
A pathetical, "Oh." Was all I managed to say when I wanted to hit myself. Fuck, this was a girl trying to come to terms that demons and monsters and magical gender flipping martial artists existed, and I threw her right at the jaws of a lion-woman-monster thing. If only I wasn't so insistent on this Kodachi business.
I shifted uncomfortably. She was already distancing herself by the mere existence of these things, and now she's been hurt and terrorized by one, I can already see her reaction.
So deep I was in my musings that I didn't notice that Haruka suddenly wasn't beside me anymore. A surge of panic burst inside my chest, but a quick look around showed me that she'd just stopped in her tracks and I kept walking like an idiot.
"… Senpai is amazing."
H-Hm? She was almost whispering, so it took a second for me to process the words. I open my mouth to respond but she continued.
"That… thing…. It was so… Terrifying, strong, Kuno Kodachi fought against it, but she couldn't even… I didn't know what to do, so I just grabbed her and… ran."
She choked, and I felt my chest tightening at the highs her voice was getting; it was not easy seeing Haruka, seeing anymore like this. Before I could swallow the lump on my throat, she pressed on.
"But then you." She finally looked at me, eyes glistening. "You just… dealt with it, you stood against it and refused to budge and was so damn brave and heroic, and so like you that I…" A rueful smile opens on her face, and she shook her head. "I just ran, like I always, always do, running away from everything, even before tonight I was… Compared to you I…" She hiccupped wetly at the last word.
I had enough.
"Shut up," I said firmly, she flinched at the word and tone, but I press on.
"Look at me, Haruka." She didn't react. "Look at me." I insisted.
She did, moist blue eyes with complicated emotions rose from the shadows of her bangs to look at me.
"Do you see any injury, any sign of that fight at all?" I pointed at my shoulder where there should have been a second-degree burn, but instead, there was perfectly immaculate skin under my new shirt. "I am a freak, Haruka. I can punch through concrete, I can run faster than a car, I can heal from just about any injury with a short rest. But, you… you are nothing like me. You're just a normal girl."
She smiled that self-deprecating smile again; more tears gathered in her eyes.
I step in, enough to be inappropriate for a Japanese person, but I didn't give a damn.
"You have nothing I have. And yet you still faced that monster, you still got in, got Kodachi, and freaking carried her city blocks away from the school all while a monster chased you. How the hell do you think anybody else would have acted in this situation, how the hell do you think I would if I didn't have what I have. They would run, Haruka. They would run immediately and just forget about anymore else in favor of saving their skin. I would run."
She shook her head sharply, "You wouldn't run."
"I would!" It's true. If I didn't have the gamer, if I didn't have concrete proof that I would get stronger, or that I wouldn't get permanent injuries… I would act much differently than I do now. But her… "But you, you just… risked your life to save someone, someone you didn't know, didn't even like for goodness sake. You faced down a genuine monster that could have killed you just to get someone to safety. You call me brave and heroic? Then how the hell can we even begin to describe you?"
And I mean it too, I was surprised how much I mean it. There is no way to understate what Haruka did tonight; she found herself in an actual horror movie situation, and instead of saving herself like the average person, she risked it all for Kodachi. This is just…
"Extraordinary. You're just extraordinary." I decided and said it to her face.
Then I realize I literally said to her face, seeing as I was close enough to do so, and had my hands on her shoulders.
"Hum." To my credit I didn't sputter dumbly like an anime protagonist with a pretty girl would, I just straightened my back and released my grip on her shoulders. "Sorry about… that." I trailed off.
Haruka was meeting my eyes for the first time in a while, and I was struck speechless by the weight her teary gaze held. Shock, doubt, happiness, hope, all mixed into a confused bundle. They glistened in the night's light before disappearing as she bumped her forehead on my chest, hands clinging to my shirt.
I said nothing as the quiet sobs started, just brought my arms around her, and tried to hold her in a manner that wouldn't let my awkwardness show. I was not prepared to be consoling a crying girl tonight, much less Haruka, but I would do the best I could.
We stood there in that deserted street for a while. I said nothing, just kept rubbing my hands on her back and let her let all she was holding. She occasionally mumbled something against my shirt, but it was too muffled for me to make sense, and she went back to sobbing soon after.
Eventually, we separated.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just…" Haruka spoke, rubbing her sleeves to her face to clear her remaining tears. "Nobody ever said something like that to me."
It was hard to keep the surprise from showing on my face. Sure, what I called her, and the way I did it was a bit chuuni— scratch that, it was a lot chuuni — so I can see how she can say that, but something about the way she said it… I knew, I just knew there was a lot more meaning than it first seemed.
I looked at Tenou Haruka again, taking her in like it was the first time: tall for a girl of her age, long-limbed, shoulders tending towards the broad side, dirty blonde hair that was more curled than straight, feature that while certainly attractive were longer and sharper than the average girl…
"Well… That sounds like it's entirely their fault." I decided with a nod; it was a very easy decision.
She rasped out a tiny laught despite herself. Then, out of nowhere, she gave me a deep bow.
"I'm sorry!" She declared before I could say anything. "Senpai, I treated you terribly this week, I'm so, so sorry about that."
"Ah." Jesus, if acting a bit distant is being treated terribly to Haruka, then she definitely can't go to the west; she's just too nice for those barbarians. "I figured you just needed some time."
She shook her head… while still bowing, so it was a bit weird. "No, I was… I was trying to run away again. I apologize for that!"
"It's—" It's ok; I almost said it, but gestures mean different things for different people, so while I might not have been to bothered about it, I could see now that it weighted on Haruka. So I change to a formal but sincere. "I accept your apology, please stand."
She did, passing her sleeve over her eyes one last time to get the last tears.
"Hiroshi-senpai… I'm not what you describe." I frowned, but then she looked at me with a —Radiant, joyful smile, bloody yet victorious, short blonde hair blowing in fury of the cosmic storm, dark blue eyes like continental colossus cresting over a bed of starlight, holding within undying, never-ending— determination I've never seen on her before.
Hum!?
What the hell?
D-Did her title and level just glitch?
"But I want to be like that! I want to be someone I can be proud of. So." I blinked at her as she bowed again, a formal bow rather than the one for a humbling apology from before. "Please, Hiroshi-senpai, I humbly request your guidance."
Her question helped center my thought. I blinked down to her and realized what she asked. "Sure, I'm wasn't planning to leave you hanging when it was me that dragged you into this mess, but, hum, guidance is a bit much."
Haruka smiled; it was one of her usual ones this time, the ones that make her look damn cool. "Not at all, I had a distinct feeling that it would come to that on the first time we met, it's a bit weird to be honest, but…" She shrugged. "I guess you come with the weird."
…There is a lot to unpack there; in fact, her statement had my common sense tingling like a motherfucker, so I don't want to just dismiss that, even when I hoped that it's just an in of the moment thing.
Still, Haruka was back, and things didn't feel awkward between us anymore, process!
"I probably have to get stronger, though." She commented as she walked past me in an unspoken prompt.
"Definitely, sorry about that, but hanging out with me and Ranma makes that necessary." It was easy to fall into step beside her. My eyes widened when an interesting idea surfaced. "In fact, I think I have a good dojo to recommend."
We talked the entire way back to her house, the heavy silence of our last few conversations all but a memory.
I couldn't believe how glad I was for that.
-0-0-0-
Yesterday was a good day overall.
I got a few levels in ninjutsu, which was always nice, Rin left for her mission, which sucks, Ryoga appeared again, so I think he will be a semi-permanent presence from now on, I got a new Cardian summon, and patched things up with Haruka.
Yeah, good day.
Not really sure what to think about the summon though, I mean, it is nice to have, and if it's half as useful as Minon it'll be a great boon. Plus, I certainly hope to finally break past lvl 02 of the Summon Cardian skill now that I have more than Minon.
What frustrated me yesterday was the fact I couldn't summon it at all, I tried for hours with increasingly frustrating results, that is, the summoning circle appeared, the timer started, but at the end there was no Cardian, and it was all just a waste of MP. At some point, I just gave up and went to sleep. (Minon complained a lot for being used as a live dakimakura, but I got used to having someone sleeping next to me damn it! I think she liked it a lot in the end, though.)
It wasn't until this morning, just as I was leaving for my morning jog that I realize my fit of retardation: Minon, she was the reason I couldn't summon the new Cardian. I only had one 'summon slot' and Minon was occupying it.
I grumbled a bit while I ran; I'm really curious about the new Cardian, but I'm not curious enough to dismiss Minon from the Illusion Barrier I left her grinding in early. I'd have to go back all that way there to deal with it as leaving it alone and having it evolve or do another unknown thing wasn't an option. So I guess it's waiting until after school to meet the new guy… Girl, why do I feel it's going to be a girl?
Anyway, it wasn't like I didn't have other things to look forwards to: I was meeting Haruka today, not to escort her to school like always (I think her school's going to be closed for a while for obvious reasons.), but to join her for her own morning jog.
I never thought I could be excited to introduce someone to the joys of exercise, but I've long since stopped wondering how my life has come to this.
Haruka's house was close to my apartment, and by this point I knew the route like the back of my hand, so it was easy to get to the intersection and cross the street to enter the neighborhood where—
The second-floor window of Haruka's house exploded outwards in a shower glass, flower petals, maniacal laughter.
The fuck!?
"Ohohohohohohoho!!!"
The figure bounced around Haruka's neighbors' houses, nothing by a greenish blur to the untrained eye. To me, however, it was easy to see they had training; they weren't like Ranma, who could practically fly, but they are clearly comfortable in the air, and it shows. Where they passed, they left a trail of… black petals…
Hold on.
I saw her pausing on top of the house next to me, and the next leap had her landing directly in front of me.
And there she was, in all her athletic curves in a tight bluish green leotard glory. Kuno Kodachi, Kuno-senpai's twisted little sister and the runner contender for Ranma's craziest fiancé… well, wanna-be-fiancé.
"I remember you!" Was the first thing she said to me, throwing her silky side ponytail over her shoulder. "You saved me yesterday."
I swallowed a lump of saliva because hot damn that leotard is tight. "I helped, yes." Frankly, I'm kinda surprised Kuno hadn't ranted to her about me and how I was clearly responsible for her state yesterday. Maybe she does remember what happened. "I'm glad to see you're already on your feet."
"Ohohohohoho! A little encounter like that is nothing for Kodachi, the black rose!" She pointed the handle of her ribbon thingy in my direction. "Still, I'm here to formally thank you for helping the jewel of the Kuno's family in her hour of need!"
Well, that's… nice of her. Maybe she's more reasonable than her brother— Oh god, I shouldn't have thought that— Hum?
Kodachi had, leaned forward, like, getting way inside my personal space to the point that I had to bend backward to keep the distance. She just kept looking at me with her admittedly pretty eyes.
"Um, can I help you?"
"Oh!" She gasped, immediately retreating a couple of steps before turning her back to me. She then started to mumble and fidget in place.
Ah, shit, I have a bad feeling about this; I have a horrible feeling about this. In fact, I got chills. "A-Are you ok?" No, don't show compassion, you fool! Run away!
"… Oh, how life is cruel and unfair!" Her mumbling suddenly became very audible. I didn't know if she noticed or not. "After my conundrum with Haruka-sama, now this. Oh, why does my heart act so—."
She spun towards me so fast that her hair snapped in the air. I would have found her blushing face very charming if it didn't give me so much dread.
"I-I must solve the tangles of my heart, farewell!"
A gust of black rose petals somehow accompanied her as she leaped. I had to wave a hand over my face to clear my vision and was left standing alone in a now petal covered street.
W-Well… That wasn't so bad?
"NO!" It was a fiery declaration of righteous determination, one that washes away any the doubt and uncertainty one could possibly have.
Goddamn it.
I look up and to the side, and there was Kodachi again, a storm of black rose petals swirling around her in conjunction with her ribbon.
"I, Kuno Kodachi, the Black Rose, never do things half measures, nor do I let little things get in the way of my desire!" She declared to victoriously to the sky. "Morals? Constraints? Rules? Out of my way! I have something to say!"
Her ribbon, breaking all conventional rules of physics, snapped a bouquet of black roses into existence, and she launched it toward me.
"Bat-wielding Prince." The fuck did she call me!? "I love you."
Fuck.
"Goodbye for now, my love! For I must calm this confusing heart for our next encounter. But be assured we will meet again!" She very lovingly blew me a kiss and then Ohohoho'ed her way across the rooftops, leaving the trail of black petals behind her, of course.
I looked at the bouquet in my hand, and cursed again, loudly this time.
There are so many butterflies flying right now it's not even funny.
"Se-Senpai."
I turned around to see Haruka shyly exiting her house, she looked shocked, alarmed, confused, mortified, covered in petals, and there was a bouquet of black roses in her hands.
"S-she said I had tempted her with the forbidden fruit, and that I must take responsibility." She spoke breathlessly, looking at me with wide, helpless eyes. "W-W-What do I do senpai!? I don't like girls!" So said the closet lesbian, yet her giant blush said otherwise.
Fucking Kunos man, they are more trouble than they're worth..