Story: Anime Affray: The Multiverse Project
Authors: Master Jin Sonata, Time Master, Nocturne, Aoi, & Various Guest Authors
Written: May 3, 2017
Genre: Varying Depending On Chapter
Rating: M (Suggestive Themes, Language, Violence)
Disclaimer: We do not own the universes spanning across various anime
Author's Note: This story is a special collaboration with my own team of authors and the collective works from members of a college anime club Master Jin Sonata runs!
Introductory Chapter
Written By: Master Jin Sonata
Anime Represented: ? ? ? ? ?
Location: Binding Forest, Late Tokugawa Shogunate, Japan Year 1861
"The Binding Forest. Not exactly a safe place to peruse in the middle of a warm, cloudless moonlit summer night. However, given our jobs, we really have no choice in the matter."
Within this semi sporadic forest of thin bamboo sprouting all throughout, a large lake lies near the center. The wind whistles softly as it dances around a single individual.
Name: Aoi "Blue Moon" Tsuki
Profession: Master of Weaponry
Origin: Original Character (OC)
Home: Alternate Earth
Age: 24
Height: 5'9''
Weight: 145
Hair: Indigo, Waist-Length
Body: Average Build, Light Complexion, Green Eyes
Aoi stood partly submerged in the waters of Binding Forest's lake, her shoulders barely above the waters as she bathed in the nude. She cupped her hands and scooped up a handful of the clean crisp water, pouring it through her long indigo hair. She gazes up at the sky, admiring the stars above.
"So silent…and peaceful…too bad this land is swept within the turmoil following the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate…all that's left is for me to do what I do best…"
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when she hears the faint sound of footsteps from near the shore behind her. She remains still; as to not alert whoever is near her of her awareness.
"Yaminobu assassins…they are here."
Aoi takes a deep breath and slowly ducks underneath the waters. She did not resurface much to the dismay of two Yaminobu assassins, who were peeping in on the young woman from behind a nearby patch of shrubbery.
"Damn, where did that cutie go?"one of the assassin's questions, anger in his tone. "I want to see more of her!"
"Hey, aren't we supposed to be capturing her, and not trying to get a peek at her young, luscious body?" asks the other assassin.
"Yes, that is indeed our mission, but how often do you get a chance like this? Just think about it, we could have some fun with her before we press her on the whereabouts of the Hitokiri Battōsai," says the first assassin.
"You would like that, wouldn't you?" replies a voice from directly behind the two assassins.
The assassins look at each other before spinning around to see Aoi standing right before them, dripping wet, and holding her katana this time, unsheathed. She seemed to be displeased at the assassin's dirty pastime.
"It's…you!"the first assassin responds, eyes nearly popping out of his head at the bare Aoi standing before them.
"Instead of gawking at me, take a look at this instead,"Aoi dejectedly responds, immediately thrusting the handle of her katana directly into the first assassin's face, breaking his nose on contact, jettisoning him backwards into the lake like a rock skipping on water.
The second assassin, back on shore, hastily grabs a kunai from his belt.
"You bitch!" the assassin growls with discontent, throwing the small silvery weapon at her.
Aoi strafes to the side, the kunai barely scraping her cheek as it whizzes past her, ultimately ending up stuck into the bamboo on the opposite end of the lake. She took this opportunity to advance toward the assassin and swing.
The assassin flips backwards into the air and hurls two more kunai at Aoi, both which were deflected by Aoi's katana.
Reaching to grab another, he feels nothing.
"Shit!"
The assassin lands on the ground, only to end up impaled by Aoi's katana. Blood sprayed from the assassin's back as he began to collapse onto the ground. Aoi removes her blade and stares at the now dead Yaminobu assassin. Aoi sighs and walks toward her partner in crime, Shion, who was several feet away sitting against a large rock reading a small book under the ray of the moon's light.
"You know, you should charge people to see you nude like this," was the first thing out of Shion's mouth, not taking her eyes off of her book. She had a very smug look on her face as she said it. This young woman was wearing a black frilly Gothic dress and red laced platform boots.
Name: Shion "Deep Red Tides" Akane
Profession: Master of Occult & Illusion
Origin: Original Character (OC)
Home: Alternate Earth
Age: 19
Height: 4'11''
Weight: 98
Hair: White, Shoulder-Length
Body: Petite, Pale Complexion, Red Eyes
"I swear, Shion, is that all you can say after I was just attacked for protecting our client?" Aoi says. She gives Shion a dirty look as laid her sword down and began to dry herself off and dress herself in her normal clothing, consisting of a blue dress shirt, black skirt and matching knee-high boots. "I sill don't understand to this day why no one ever goes after you in during our ridiculous excursions across universes."
Shion lays down her book and looks at Aoi with her piercing red eyes. "I told you, Aoi, It's because of my powers. I can make myself invisible if I so please so that I do not get harmed when I'm in my solid form," Shion responds. "Besides, neither you or I were what those assassins were after to begin with. We were simply bait."
Aoi takes hold of her hair and squeezes out the excess water it was still holding.
"Yeah, I suppose you're right. It's amazing how the higher-ups in this country think its okay to strike down anyone who protects the land's most dangerous yet beneficial samurai top its people," Aoi says out loud, turning to face the bamboo trees across the lake. "Isn't that right, Mr. Battōsai?"
As if on cue, Himura Kenshin steps out from behind a large bamboo tree and approaches the two ladies. He had an obvious injury, apparent by the slight limp in his brisk step.
"You can handle a blade quite well for a foreigner. Regardless of whom you practiced under, I thank you for your assistance. This will send a message to others to think twice about trying to take advantage of me when I'm in an injured state," Kenshin says to Aoi with a nod.
"Don't sweat it, just doing our job. Beside, Shion and I only wish to see to it that the balance in each of these worlds are not tampered with in any way," Aoi responds with a proud grin.
"Bullshit, we only do this because we are poor as shit and need to pay our rent back home and buy groceries each week so we don't die of starvation," Shion cuts in dryly.
"Shion, I would definitely hit you upside the head if you weren't the only person the universe to be crazy enough to partner up with me in these string of incredibly important odd-job," Aoi says, cutting her off.
"Go ahead and try. Due to my powers of illusion your hand would simply go through me," Shion says whilst rolling her eyes in response.
Aoi grunts in a huff, then turns back to Kenshin.
"Anyways, will you be alright heading to the capital without our help?" Aoi asks.
Kenshin nods.
"Yes, I'll seek proper medical attention once I arrive. Your assistance tonight has spared crucial time on my journey to put an end to a great evil before I retire my blade once and for all," Kenshin states. "I expect our paths will cross again someday?"
Aoi cocks her head to the side and smiles.
"with our line of work it's certainly possible!" Aoi responds.
With that said, Kenshin bids both ladies farewell as he hastily exits the area.
Both girls look at one another before reaching for their cell phones.
"Do you think this fulfills the contract given to us by our boss?" Aoi asks Shion, dialing a number and waiting for an answer while it rang.
"I don't know," Shion shrugs whilst typing out a text message to an unknown person.
After a few rings, Aoi's call is answered. She puts it on speaker so Shion could hear as well.
"Hello?"
"Boss! This is Aoi, we have successfully protected the contracted target Himura Kenshin, aka 'Hitokiri Battōsai'!" Aoi says gleefully.
Name: The Boss
Profession: Being The Bossiest Boss That Ever Bossed
Origin: Unknown
Age: Unknown
Height: Unknown
Weight: Unknown
Hair: Bald? (According to the silhouette of him both ladies have witnessed in person)
Body: Tall? (I guess, he's always sitting in his big executive chair behind his large-ass desk at HQ)
"Oh Aoi! Great to hear back from you! It's been a few days, I was afraid you and your partner would have gotten killed or something!"
"Gee, don't we feel loved…" Shion mutters in a monotone voice, still typing away on her phone.
"Well, it's not like you gave us clear directions to find this Kenshin fellow. You literally just opened a portal for us in cold northern region of Japan!" Aoi responds to their boss.
"My ass is still trying to thaw out from that incident…" Shion adds.
"My bad, my bad! Ahem, well, great work on your mission. It's not easy finding willing and able persons to go around the millions of anime universes and ensure that key figures stay on track on their destiny. With that said, I have yet another mission for you both."
"Another one?! Can't we get a break first?!" Aoi whines in disbelief.
"Now hold on! This next mission is not as bad as you think. Check it out: I'm sending you both to an unexplored dimension that was just discovered a few days ago. Apparently a portal leading to this location has opened across multiple of these anime universes. On top of that, some strange and unknown force is drawing these inhabitants to this singular dimension."
"That sounds weird, and kinda scary," Aoi responds with a mix of uncertainty and intrigue in her voice.
"The whole thing sounds like a cheap plot device for fanfiction…" Shion adds, un-amused at the proposition.
"So what is it exactly do you want us to do?" Aoi asks.
"I need you two to observe and report. I ask of you to explore this strange dimension and analyze what you see. Stay there as long as you need to gather sufficient data. Since it is most likely that you will run into multiple individuals from the aforementioned multiverse, I do ask you exercise extreme caution. Try not to get involved with any of them unless its absolutely necessary. There is no telling who or what will appear there."
"…We're going to die, broke and hungry nonetheless…" Shion says with a sigh. "Well, at least we can rely on our individual skills to delay the inevitable."
Aoi stops and thinks for a moment before speaking once more.
"I guess we'll take on this job as well. We'll be getting paid for the last job and this one as well, right?" Aoi asks.
"Of course! In fact, I'll wire some funds to both of your charge cards so you'll have some spending money while you are out!"
"Granted if this dimension isn't some hellish H.P. Lovecraftian landscape or another undeveloped planet where ATM's don't exist…" Shion adds.
"All right, we will start our mission posthaste. We won't let you down, sir!" Aoi says to her boss with firm conviction.
"That's the spirit! Oh, and by the way…"
"Yes boss?" Aoi asks.
"How are you two even getting a reception in your current location? Radio towers and satellites don't exist in that time period…yet."
"You tell us, you're the one who gave these phones to us!" Aoi responds in just.
"Anime-logic…" Shion quips.
"Ah, well, ahem, good point. Now then, Keep me posted on your findings, girls! Over and out!"
Click!
No sooner did Aoi hang up, a large black swirling portal materializes before them.
"Well, no rest for the weary I suppose," Shion says to Aoi. "Let's get this over with."
"Right!" Aoi says as both girls walk toward the portal, disappearing within its mass before it closes behind them.
Location: Unknown Dimension
WHAP…THUD!
The portal opens, and both ladies are unceremoniously ejected from it. They land hard on a concrete sidewalk before the portal disappears completely, with Aoi hitting the ground face-first while Shion lands comfortably and safely on top of her.
"Ow! That wasn't a very nice trip!" Aoi proclaims, pulling herself off of the ground, rubbing her sore bottom while Shion hops off her back.
"This isn't the time to be butt-hurt…" Shion says smugly.
Aoi grunts at her partner in a huff as she then looks at her surroundings.
"This…is that strange dimension our boss was talking about?" Aoi questions in surprise.
The area that they stood was nothing more than your standard metropolitan city. Though the infrastructure looked a bit more modern than most, the entirety of where they stood mirrors the feel and scale of the well-maintained New-New York City back on Alternate Earth. Only….it was a lot less noisy and crowded.
"Well this is a shocker. Looks somewhat normal to me. Think our boss is playing a prank on us?" Shion asks Aoi as she walks around the area, stepping onto the concrete street and looking down both directions of the deserted road.
"I certainly hope not! But, this place seems safe for the time being. Our mission is to just wait and see what happens. Apparently, others from various worlds are supposed to appear in this city as well," Aoi says. "Come on, let's go see if can find a hotel or someplace to stay until something develops."
"You don't have to tell me twice," Shion responds with a nod, hurrying back onto the sidewalk to Aoi's side as they begin their search in this strange new world.
[Welcome to The Nameless Metropolis]
End of Introductory Chapter
What do think of this concept? Please review and let us know! Stay tuned for the next chapter, who knows what other anime universes will start to appear in this singular dimension!