13 Friend
As the band and their audience interacted, my eyes couldn't help being attracted to the treasure trove- ehem, guitar case full of money. I then looked at the instruments and the people giving away coins.
...I just had a great idea.
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2/2
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{Where did she go?}
Saiki massaged his aching head, the result of repeatedly using Clairvoyance. Once the pain subsided did he look around for another place to search.
{Maybe she didn't go this way...}
Just thinking about it made Saiki's head hurt even more.
When Snow White suddenly disappeared, a foreboding feeling immediately attacked him. It was at that moment that Saiki realized how big a mistake it was to leave her to her own devices.
{We don't have much time left.}
Both of them agreed to meet up with his parents after an hour, and time was running out. With the powers she displayed, finding her would be incredibly difficult within the limited time, not to mention whatever havoc she might create.
At first, Snow White was simply roaming around the city without attracting attention to herself. This made Saiki relax, until she teleported away. He expected to find her quite easily with his powers.
He was wrong of course.
{She better listen to me... good grief.}
Saiki used Clairvoyance but to no avail. Whatever power Snow White has that can block his powers from affecting her still works against him.
Telepathy works on her and so does Teleportation. Too bad they aren't useful in this situation.
One place Saiki had yet to search was the nearby mountains, so he quickly hurried over by travelling through the sky, doing so while invisible.
Trees, trees, more trees... over there.
A public park could be seen in the distance.
{Come on. I don't want to get chewed out later.}
Saiki hurriedly used Clairvoyance to take a closer look.
Thankfully, within no time, he saw a familiar figure in a somewhat crowded area of the park.
Lustrous, wavy white hair with dark pink tips cascaded past her shoulders, capturing everyone's attention. The color wasn't the most noticeable aspect for the people of this world possessed wacky hair colors as well.
Light danced about in an entrancing way, accentuating every vibrant lock of her hair and the mysterious air around her. Every breath of hers made them sway, and the smallest breeze created a light show that mesmerizes and leaves one gawking.
Unperturbed by their incessant gazes, Snow White held a microphone, presumably connected to the two speakers to both her sides. An empty bowl was on the ground just in front of her, its comically-large size confusing while simultaneously intriguing many.
Through Clairvoyance, Saiki heard piano tunes begin to play, followed by a drum beat. Snow White then took a deep breath.
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♪ I had a dream of the time we were born… ♬
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The song started all too suddenly.
Everyone who heard the angelic voice, whether or not they were part of the surrounding audience, and whether or not they had intentions of listening in the first place, stopped what they were doing.
Involuntarily, the attention of every person within earshot slowly gathered towards the soft singing of a lone person.
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♫ We lived so beautifully in that city of wombs... clapping our hands and laughing out loud. ♪
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A stillness came about as people became dazed, lost in the words that held deep yet indecipherable meaning. In such a state, many forgot how to breathe, focused solely on the otherworldly voice.
Hovering in the sky, Saiki had forgotten what he came for.
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♩ We drank down our paints and the colors of the rainbow changed;
We began to wish to be held and stopped being able to walk on our own... ♪
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An inexplicable phenomenon was occurring.
Lines and verses continued to be sung. Even still, people showed no signs of recovering from their silent stupor. Rather, it deepened with each succeeding verse.
In such a state, foreign feelings blossomed. The seemingly 'random' words that were being spoken held within them deep emotions.
Childlike happiness, oblivious content, sharp apprehension, bitter trepidation, ravenous jealousy, crippling despair, avid resentment...
As beautiful as the voice was, many felt conflicted because of the increasing disparity between what is heard in their minds and what is felt in their hearts. Nevertheless, they couldn't escape it.
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♪ I'm sure you can hear it well enough to drive you mad… It's telling us to, "live"! ♫
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It didn't take long for the song to reach its end, and with that last line, the music finished. However, the audience remained motionless, showing no signs of moving anytime soon.
'...Why is no one giving me money yet? Did I do badly?'
Thinking so, a confused Snow White stood rooted to the spot, trying to make sense of why her bowl remained empty.
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To sing in front of a crowd, having accompanying music is of upmost importance. The thing is, I didn't have any of those speakers and wires and microphones and whatever other stuff you need to have good music.
So it's a good thing that faking objects is something I've recently become good at.
No speakers? Find a rock, split it into two, and after a few seconds of psychic sculpting we get two brand-new speakers!
No microphone? Same thing.
No container for your busking money? Same thing!
Of course, since they have none of the modern era's technological advancements then sculpting alone wouldn't solve anything. Rocks can't make music play.
So it's a good thing that I have a System.
While not 100%, the System can use my skills. Letting the System handle the music problem and volume amplification through another psychic skill of PSI called Telepathy is no biggie. The System can also use my new skill, Musical Mastery, with Telepathy to play the music and give a realistic quality to it.
I could have done it myself but performing in front of a lot of people makes me nervous. My Acting Skill helped in that regard.
For the singing itself, my recently acquired Voice Mastery should be of great use, so there's no point in worrying about it. The chosen song should've been fine as well.
The song is actually an opening for Tokyo Ghoul that I've memorized in the past, despite being unable to understand what they meant. It just vibes well with me so I learned it by heart.
Such is one of the many reasons why I possess the Otaku Title.
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Now, the question is: "Where is the money at?"
Looking at the empty bowl and the still audience, I was left to ponder on my own.
"Did they not like the song?"
It's a real possibility. The song did come from Tokyo Ghoul. I'm not saying that their openings are bad, but they must not be compatible with the inhabitants from a gag anime like The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K.
Let's translate what "Munou" all really means. and see from there.
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- A prostitute set a fire… and someone in a far-off city died.
- Papa and mama were mistaken: I can no longer pretend the numbers are wrong.
- Please don't get any stronger; amidst the pollution, a siren rang out, driving me mad.
- I want to burn that worthless picture book, with the breaths of those sheep.
- As we wished to destroy the untouchable children, with simple words.
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...huh. There's nothing about Tokyo or Ghouls or anything. What does it all mean?!
"At least it sounds depressing... they got that part right. Did I sound depressed while I was singing?"
My audience had yet to wake up from their stupor, but it was hard to miss the tears gathering in their eyes. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
I looked at the System Notifications that popped up.
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[Ding!]
Acting Skill |Rank: C --> B|
Musical Mastery Skill |Rank: C --> A|
Voice Mastery Skill |Rank: B+ --> SS+|
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'There is absolutely no way that I performed badly with these skill ranks, so the problem must lie in the song itself.
Too late to take it back. I technically can turn back time and choose a different song, but that's an effort I'm not willing to make.'
After taking another look around the disturbingly quiet park, I decided on my course of action.
"Nigerundayo!"
I commenced my plan to hide in the nearby forest, away from the dazed eyes of the surrounding audience that might wake up soon.
Two steps into it, the earth incomprehensibly shook, making me slip on a mossy part of the stone floor.
'Eh-?'
As I fell, I thought of ways to stop my face from smashing against the ground.
Instinctively, PSI opposed gravity and stopped the motion, successfully preventing a potentially painful headbutt. That is until I remembered that people were around, even if in a dazed state. Who knows if one of them was awake by now, or if there was a camera recording somewhere.
Pausing while falling might look odd, but PSI held me for less than a millisecond. Using PSI to push me down now shouldn't arouse much suspicion.
'Looks like there's no stopping this one.'
My hands still covered my face. Kissing the ground isn't pleasant at all.
*Thud* "Oof."
There was no pain but a groan reflexively left my mouth. I keep forgetting my stats, or I just haven't gotten used to how things are yet. Anyway, slipping is now completely harmless.
For the ground though... just a small crack.
'I seriously hope no one got that on camera.'
While feeling embarrassed on the cool plaza floor, a piece of rectangular paper fluttered with the wind, heading straight towards me.
It looked old, having a worn-out color similar to coffee, containing highly detailed illustrations and symbols.
There is an old person on it, some cool-looking patterns wrapped along the side, and some numbers and characters.
An old person covered a third of the area on the right, bordered by patterns resembling sea waves and flowers. The left side consists of three lines containing Japanese symbols, while the English alphabet and numbers can be both seen in their select areas.
"The Bank Of Japan... 10,000... HR761839K... huh?"
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Did I read that right?
¥10,000? 10,000 Yen?
'Is that... money on the ground... and it's coming here?'
There was no need to reach for it since the money clung to my face after being blown over by the wind. With a much, much closer look, I was able to examine it further.
"It's real... so this is what Japanese money looks like."
It came out of nowhere, straight for my face, and now in my System Inventory where not a single soul can steal it.
'Hehe. It's mine now. Finders keepers.'
Looks like I didn't trip for nothing.
"It hurts... I don't know why but it hurts!"
A voice full of confusion screamed from behind me where all the people were. A man was screaming his heart out amongst the crowd.
The mini earthquake seems to have woken him up from whatever weird state he was under as clarity had returned to his once vacant eyes. It wasn't only him as many others had started to move again.
Some began clutching their chests while others stared at their hands as if looking for something important to them.
But most of all, every single one of them was crying, loudly spewing unintelligible nonsense...
"UgH.iiEtdoOwuNabPiYagUL....."
It's way worse than I thought.
What have I done.
Tucking my hair inside my clothes and afterwards putting the hood up, I ran back into the depths of the forest. Once deep enough, out of sight, I picked up the pace to further the distance.
The commotion only grew as more people regained their ability to speak, confirming that my act of escape was... necessary.
'Being talented sure has its downsides.'
I got what I came for though, so all is well. Hopefully.
May the Creator bless them and their sanity.
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{Where do you think you're going-}
Saiki appeared out of nowhere. The spatial distortions that he makes during teleportation went unnoticed since I was too concentrated on maneuvering around the forest.
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[Ding!]
[Parkour |Rank: G| Skill Successfully Obtained]
Parkour |Rank G --> A|
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As nice as the skill was, it couldn't help me come to a halt in an instant. I inadvertently collided with Saiki. The force was enough to send him flying, stopping only after having collided with several trees.
"Crap, are you alright?!"
I shouted out before sprinting through the path made of broken tree trunks.
{...I miscalculated.}
Saiki was lying on the floor, his clothes tattered and glasses missing. Covered in dirt, his face appeared annoyed, even with one of his hands covering both his eyes. Thankfully, his limiter remained stuck on his head.
Covered in dirt, one of his hands covered both his eyes, but I can imagine the furrowed brows underneath.
With one hand covering his eyes, he used the other to massage his forehead.
{Get me my glasses.}
I shrugged despite his being incapable of seeing my actions. The reason why he demanded them was obvious. It was to block a certain power of his.
"Here, have this instead."
Saiki turned to the side, showing me his back donning a brown layer of soil. Once he faced me, he spoke.
{These aren't my glasses.}
Instead of green lenses, Saiki's dark pink eyes were now hidden behind dark, polarized sunglasses. My sunglasses to be exact.
"It didn't need to be your glasses."
As long as Saiki wasn't looking at something directly, then they would be safe from his Petrification power.
Like Medusa or a Basilisk, a single look from him can turn any living being to stone. Unlike Medusa or a Basilisk, the petrification only lasts for 24 hours.
Whether or not that power can affect me is uncertain. Uncertain but highly likely that it can't, speaking from experience.
{You know what? Forget the glasses. We need another talk.}
Beyond the sunglasses revealed a pissed-off glare. There resembled a smile on Saiki's face, the kind that mothers use out in public when they want to send a message to their misbehaving children, but worse.
{Yeah... just a talk.}
Uhh... why are you cracking your fingers then? Surely you don't need them? And surely you can talk from where you're standing, so there's really no need to come any closer...
I quickly tried to salvage the situation, taking a few steps back through the path of broken trees as a precautionary measure.
"Okay, I did use my powers but I was subtle with it."
{You call mass hypnosis subtle?!}
"It wasn't like that! I'm just good at singing!"
His reply took the form of producing an odd-looking object in his hand.
Boomerang-shaped and yellow in color, the object could've passed for a weird banana no thanks to it having wide eyes, a gaping mouth, and little arms.
Saiki looked at the object fondly, later replaced by pure annoyance once he stared at me once more.
{I had to use this Nanana lookalike to once again clean up another one of your messes.}
The object was too bizarre, making a fleeting glance lacking. Of course, I knew what it was and what it was capable of, but seeing something on a screen compared to seeing something in real life are two completely different experiences.
With the same expression on his face, Saiki guaranteed that the situation was indeed beyond saving.
{Would you like to know how?}
The meagre distance between us instantly shortened. Taking precautionary backward steps proved to be futile as he easily crossed that gap.
With the banana-looking object in hand, he aimed at my head, performing a wide horizontal swing.
However...
'He's slow.'
Tilting slightly and taking another step back, the weapon(?) missed by a few centimeters. A gust of wind came with the swing that made my eyes sting a bit.
But then, even though he missed, I was sent flying with a deafening blast.
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Wide-eyed, I continued to hurtle backwards, carving a path of destruction through the forest. Boulders with their firmness couldn't stop me, while trees with their abundance couldn't ease my advance.
Regaining my wits took time, and when I did Saiki was already before me, aiming at my head once more.
Instead of simply dodging like before, there was another option available.
Not sideways, but down.
Dodging once more, this time with the use of parkour to alter my trajectory, the Nanana safely but ominously passed over my head.
I looked up to see the Nanana's eyes staring at me with greatly exaggerated pupils, giving the weird object an uncanny quality.
Apart from the Nanana, Saiki also entered my vision. Every little movement of his underwent scrutiny to find when his invisible attack would strike again.
But it wasn't enough as I heard the howling of heavy air once more. Saiki had inexplicably flung me yet again.
{Stop dodging and let me vent for once!}
Only, this time, there were no obstacles to collide into.
Unbeknownst to me, the trees that stood tall and plentiful disappeared into thin air. The ground where they should have been having turned bare closely resembled Saiki's training ground of a wasteland.
Turning my head to take a little peek revealed the reason why.
Saiki was simply strong.
His swings would hit empty air, and that was exactly the case. That 'empty air' acted as a medium for the force contained within each of his strikes. What I thought of as an invisible attack was simply an aftershock.
Strength dripping in excess continued to travel onwards, razing through the greenery before pummeling the far-off mountains. A deep, horizontal gash stretching across mountains remained as evidence of his might.
Perhaps because I dodged out of the way of his strike, instead of dodging out of reach, that it was able to wreak havoc on the surroundings.
'Shit, this is getting out of control...'
Saiki once again caught up, shaking the earth while leaving behind a series of cracks that split the ground.
'...I need to stop him. '
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[Ding!]
Combat Mastery Skill |Rank: C --> B|
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Instead of retreating, I rushed towards the psychic himself.
There was no other option. Dodging harmed the environment, while getting hit would send me flying, turning me into a human wrecking ball.
'Honestly, I don't even wanna go near the guy while he is trying to beat me into a pulp with the Nanana.'
Wait... Nanana?
Eureka!
The answer was right in front of me all along!
I asked Saiki a question, a question I didn't need to hear an answer to.
"Hey! It was an honest mistake... so can't you forget about it, just this once?"
Saiki answered with a diagonal slash, to which I replied with one of my own.
{!}
...and it was Saiki's turn to be sent flying across the woodland.
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[Ding!]
Combat Mastery Skill |Rank: B --> A|
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But I wasn't done.
Without stopping, I ran as fast as I could, chasing after his flying figure.
It seems the clash had made his head cool for a bit as he finally started his psychic abilities once more.
Instead of slowing down, Saiki flew even faster with the help of Levitation before he disappeared entirely.
What was left were distortions in space that promptly repaired themselves, before reappearing once more right beside me.
'If only he knew I could see them.' I thought sparingly.
Since he started using his psychic powers, I utilized mine as well, rooting myself to the spot.
This was supposed to be a slugfest/venting session that only made use of fists and a Nanana, but if he starts using PSI, then so would I.
Once he appeared, before he could properly perform a swing, a prison constructed out of Psychokinesis bound his body.
It was then that I moved-
{This isn't fair-}
-and swung my own Nanana to Saiki's defenseless, little head.
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[Ding!]
Combat Mastery Skill |Rank: A --> S|
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"Hmm? What's this?"
A dark sphere had protected Saiki at the last moment.
From the area of contact, pulses of red and purple spread throughout the spherical shield. Their direction journeyed outwards before suddenly reversing, quickly gathering back onto its origin.
My strike was absorbed without causing any damage whatsoever.
I spoke with apparent astonishment.
"So you had a trump card like this! I'm impressed."
What kind of power is this? This wasn't in the anime at all!
I want it!
{It's not mine.}
Saiki was showing a surprised expression, before he shook his head.
Before I could ask for clarification, someone else spoke faster.
"The end is nigh, and soon, hellfire will rain upon this land."
I turned towards the voice, discovering that it emanated from a portal covered by a veil of dark and purple swirls of light, a portal that wasn't there before. Blimps of red hovered about it, possessing cores that flared with immaterial darkness.
The voice continued.
"UltraMind, you must have felt it too, right? Ominous winds have started to blow across the world of man. A calamity is edging nearer, slowly but surely baring its sinister fangs. But what's this?"
'UltraMind?'
I reacted too late when the protective sphere suddenly swelled, swallowing me whole. Saiki was supposed to be inside as well, but I didn't or couldn't see him. Rather, complete and utter darkness filled my vision.
Apart from blocking my sight, constant low thumping resounded within this dark prison, generating tremors that made the darkness seemingly sentient.
Almost as If an otherworldly beast had devoured me.
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[Ding!]
[Black Beat |Rank: C| Skill Successfully Obtained]
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Fortunately, it didn't take long for the darkness to shatter.
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[Ding!]
[Black Beat Resistance |Rank: C| Skill Successfully Obtained]
Black Beat Resistance Skill |Rank: E --> B|
Black Beat Resistance Skill |Rank: B --> S|
Black Beat Resistance Skill |Rank: S --> SS|
Black Beat Resistance Skill |Rank: SS --> SSS|
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Black Beat Resistance |Rank SSS| --> Black Resonance |Rank SSS --> X|
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With my vision restored I saw that Saiki was a distance away, standing next to where the portal once was, now replaced by a man of smaller stature.
They were talking amongst themselves as if I wasn't even there, their voices easily discernible even with the distance separating us.
"She isn't an enemy? Quite hard to believe when you were about to get battered by that strange weapon of hers."
Saiki simply shrugged. His face had regained its 'blankness'. That's a good sign that he has calmed down, I hope?
"Since it was just a simple squabble between friends then I should release her. You know how it is, my power isn't something that mere mortals can handle- Eek!"
The stranger let out a weird scream after making eye contact with me. My ears picked them up just as though he was right beside me.
"H-How did she get out?"
{Get used to it. She is full of surprises.}
"...yeah, I can see that."
I started walking to them, and they did the same.
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Taking the initiative, I handed Saiki an object.
"So... are we cool?"
It was his glasses with green lenses. There was a piece near Saiki when he was still laying on the ground. I initially wanted to keep it as a souvenir of some sorts. I mean, he gets to keep my glasses from another world so...
{For now.}
Releasing a little phew, my gaze shifted to the stranger.
A young man with messy, light blue hair.
He was wearing primarily black clothing, consisting of black formal pants, a half-sleeve suit jacket, and underneath them, a white business shirt that folded up higher than his elbows. On his neck, a choker where a silver cross hung from.
But the most noticeable thing about him were the crimson bandages that tightly clung to both of his arms, wrapping around them in a mummy-like fashion...
And the dark, purple glow they emitted.
'I feel like I know this guy...'
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The young stranger interrupted my thoughts.
"Come on UltraMind, won't you introduce me to this new friend of yours?"
Saiki received a little nudge to his side, to which he sighed.
{Stop calling me UltraMind. I didn't agree to this.}
{Anyway, Snow White, meet Kai-}
"Woah woah woah!"
Saiki was interrupted by a hand wrapped in red bandages, covering his mouth.
'This guy sure likes interrupting people. First, my attack with that barrier of his, and then my thoughts, and now when someone else is talking.
Also, what's the point of covering Saiki's mouth? He uses Telepathy to talk all the time.'
Unaware of my thoughts, the stranger went on his toes and whispered into Saiki's ear.
"Don't use my real name dude. We have code names for a reason!"
Saiki gave him a side glare.
{You were the only one that decided that.}
"Don't worry about the little details! Introduce me properly! Properly!"
{Good grief.}
Another sigh escaped Saiki's lips. In the end, he relented and went along with his friend's(?) request.
{Snow White...}
Saiki's voice in my head sounded dead inside. I ignored it.
{Meet my... ally...}
My ears couldn't help pricking up, despite knowing that Saiki was speaking through Telepathy. Afterall, this character wasn't canon at all. For Saiki to call him an ally, albeit reluctant, means that this guy is the real deal. He even blocked my SS Strength Stat!
To say that I am fascinated is an understatement.
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But after hearing the last few words, I couldn't help but think that there was something wrong with my ears.
{...The Jet-Black Wings.}