Day 1
Tokyo Lock-down
"Ugh..."
*Munch* *Munch*
"Argh..."
*Munch* *Munch*
The sun was high up the sky and its light already covered the area of Aoyama Cemetery. The area was surrounded by the chirpings of the birds and other insects, probably cicadas. Yes, it's morning and the time now was a few minutes before 8. It's a new day and it's early so no one should be in the cemetery for no special reason, especially in Tokyo. But now, there are two figures in the area. One big and the other was small.
The bigger figure was a black-haired boy lying against a tombstone. His eyes were closed, he was asleep. In front of him stood a child in dark-purple robe. That child was watching him while eating some biscuits out of a bag.
The scene looks just like a regular visitor watching a lazy lion in a zoo.
"LIKE HELL IT IS!"
"!?"
The boy woke up in order to deliver some punchline to his own dream. His action surprised the child, but the mouth of that child has not stopped moving. The black-haired could still remember seeing a similar person yesterday in Akihabara, but he did not get any uneasy feeling from this child this time.
Looking closely, the child in the robe was a girl (probably an early teen) and had a straight shoulder length purple hair. It seems like she was staring at him the whole time with her shining green eyes.
"Sigh... this is the worst..." The boy face-palmed himself as he sighed, "I can't remember what happened yesterday... and to have a dream of a pervert chasing me for my life..."
*Munch* *Munch*
"And now I woke up in the middle of nowhere and a kid was watching me this whole time like watching a hobo...HEY!" The boy noticed the girl eating something, "WHY ARE YOU EATING STUFF FROM MY BAG!?"
"Oh." The girl finally responded while continuing eating some other snacks, "Because I'm hungry."
"That doesn't mean you could just take my stuff!"
"But it was lying on the floor." The girl pointed at the bag on the floor, "Don't you know that once things are returned to Mother Earth, it can be taken?"
The girl made an expression of 'Don't you know' as she gives the boy a lecture. Of course he never heard of that saying, or actually 'did that saying ever existed' was what he should be questioning. The boy gave another sigh as he doesn't know what to do with this kid.
It's not rare to see any children early in the morning but to see a child in a cemetery was strange.
(Maybe she's lost.)
The boy bends down to look at the girl face to face. This was one of the ways to show caring to lost children because they are normally scared when meeting a stranger.
"Hello, girl." The boy said in a soft voice, "My name is Yoshino Zan, you can just call me Zan. So what is your name?"
"My parents told me not to talk to strangers." The girl said with a weird face as if she saw something disgusting.
(Ugh! She's just a kid... just a kid.)
"Don't worry. I'm just here to help you." Zan said with a forced smile, "Are you lost? Where is your mommy?"
"Go away." She said and turns her head away while eating stuff from Zan's bag.
(Ack! This brat...) Zan was approaching his limit and one of his eye brows was twitching.
"Hey, little girl-"
"I said get lost, you LOLICON!" She shouted as if she was getting annoyed by some pervert on the street, "My parents told me not to talk to strang- Awawawaw!"
"THEN SURELY YOUR PARENTS DID TELL YOU NOT TO TAKE THINGS FROM STRANGERS, AHN!" Zan grabbed the girl's head with his hand and he squeezed it as hard as he can while keeping his face close to hers.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'M SORRY!"
Zan let go of his hand as the girl apologize in pain. Sometimes, treating kids the hard way makes things easier was what he learned. Zan gave a sigh since the whole process in helping this lost child needs to be restarted.
"Let's do this again. I'm Zan, what's yours?"
"I'm... I'm Shizune." Shizune introduced herself while rubbing her head, "Haruyuki Shizune."
"Okay, see you can do it well." Zan smiled at Shizune who was about to cry, "So where is mommy?"
"..."
The girl became silent. Zan gave out a sigh since he couldn't do anything about it. He was just a stranger after-all and there was no need to tell everything to a stranger. Maybe she was just too shy to admit being lost and not know where her mother went.
(Well, some children are like that.)
Whatever it may be but the best option was to take her to the police station as trying to find this girl's parent would to be hard with just him.
"!"
Zan held Shizune's hand so he would not lose her before getting to a police station.
"HELP!" Shizune began shouting, "THERE'S A KIDNAPPER! A PERVERT! A LOLICON!"
"STUPID!" Zan fist Shizune's head from the top to stop her. "Can't you see I'm the one helping you?"
"...ugh..."
Shizune was on her knees and rubbing her head to relieve the pain. Zan felt a little guilty as he could see some tear in her eyes.
"Sorry about that." Zan held his hand out to her. "Here, get up. We are going to find your parents."
"Why should I believe in a complete stranger?" Shizune pouted.
Zan sighed, "There are plenty of reasons for me not to leave a girl behind in a cemetery and at least you can eat snacks when you are with me."
"..."
"..."
Zan couldn't believe that he just said a line that could mark him as a typical kidnapper. So it was normal for a seemly intelligent girl, like Shizune here, to hesitate on Zan's offer. But to Zan's surprise she put her little hand on the hand Zan offered.
"Okay, let's go." She began munching on the new snack she took from Zan's bag. "But don't expect to find them here, since we are in Tokyo."
"What do you mean?" Zan showed a puzzled face to her remark.
"...You will see soon enough." She said with a cold expression.
Zan could not comprehend any of the remarks she has being saying up until now. She has no reason to make up stuff since she seems more mature for her own age. Zan could only feel uneasiness from her statements.
As they began their walk to the station, Zan stood on something which made the sound of a crumbled paper. He then picked up the rectangular paper and noticed there are other similar papers, with familiar pattern that was drawn on it, placed around him.
"This charm with pink drawing... why is it here?"
The first time he saw these charms was in front of 901 in Shibuya, a miko cosplayer had them.
(But I thought it was a dream... no, actually from which part of it was a dream? Why am I here sleeping in the cemetery in the first place?)
Then Shizune spoke which answered all his questions... as if she could read his mind.
"It's simple." The girl spoke in a cold voice, like the one Zan heard from yesterday. "Since everything you saw was real."
"What? Are you basically saying we are going to die today?" Atsurou was astonished to what Kazuya told Yuzu and him.
"No ways… you are joking, right? Kazuya?" Yuzu had a hard time believing the story.
"…"
It's early morning, around twenty-past eight, and there were already some tension in the atmosphere of Miyashita Park. Just a moment before they all received 2 e-mails. One was the Laplace Mail, which they believe could predict future, and the other was about the Death Clock.
The mail about the Death Clock was sent by Naoya.
Death Clock was a special number, which could be seen on top of every human, that displays the number of days a human still have before an inevitable death. The numbers are showed from 0 to 9 and people who live longer than 10 days will have their Death Clock invisible.
The mail also mentioned that the Death Clock was only visible to the leader of the team.
"I really wish that I could just tell you it's just a joke but…"
"So it's true that our clock is at 0..." Atsurou took a step back as Kazuya nod to him.
"No! No! NO!" Yuzu violently shook her head while covering both of her ears. It was as if she was trying to block herself from listening to all this nonsense. "Hey! Let's just stop this discussion here and go to the station already. I want to go home."
"I'm sorry, Yuzu. But it seems like we won't be able to get out."
"Eh? What do you mean we can't get out?"
Yuzu was shocked to hear Atsurou's depressing statement but what shocked her more was what Atsurou showed her from his COMP.
It was the Laplace Mail.
010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101
Good morning.
Here is today's NEWS.
1. Power outages will continue in all parts of Tokyo within the Yamanote loop through the day. It is unknown when power will be restored.
2. Poisonous gas is suspected to have escaped from underground pockets. All train service is cancelled across all lines. All exits from within the Yamanote loop will be closed.
3. At 13:00 in Chiyoda-ku Bunkyo, a localized blizzard will occur. Three victims will be murdered by a snowman.
4. Across the Yamanote loop, especially around Akihabara and Kanda, there are several cases of murder throughout the day. The victims all have cut marks all over their body. The last victim was a female cosplaying a miko and she was found in small alley of Shinjuku.
HaVE a nICE daY
010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101
"The trains don't run anymore…" Atsurou averted his gaze away from Yuzu to avoid seeing her current expression.
"This… can't be…" Yuzu's legs lost their strength and she falls to the ground. Tears began flowing from her eyes. "Why? Why out of all times?"
The Laplace Mail could predict future events and the future it predicted is absolute.
The trains will not work.
"Guys." Kazuya stepped forward after seeing the other two in this state. "Just standing around here won't change a thing. We should at least go to the station to check things out."
"I agree with Kazuya, standing around here is just a waste of time." Atsurou began to pack away some of his electronics. It seems he was trying to connect to the internet but it ended in failure.
"What good does going to a station that isn't working do for us!?" Yuzu was shouting, must have been due to all this bad incidents that just kept happening. "The Laplace Mail said that the trains won't run and we all know that the mail can really predict!"
"Yuzu..." Kazuya bent down to get close to the emotional Yuzu, "Do you know why it's a taboo to know the future?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"You see." Kazuya took a deep breath before continuing with his explanation. "Even if a man knows his future but as soon as he takes a different action that future he knows wouldn't be there anymore. For example if a man knows he was going to be hit by a car if he continues to walk straight, he could avoid it by taking another turn."
"You mean…" Yuzu's eyes changed into the eyes of girl that just saw jewels for her first time.
"We could change the future." Atsurou put his bag on his shoulder. "Remember about the first incident in that Laplace Mail? If we were there, the result may be different."
"Yep, that's exactly what I'm trying to say. We can't just believe it until we have actually seen it." Kazuya then smiled and extends his hand out to Yuzu. "So, shall we be on our way?"
"O-Okay!"
Yuzu was back to herself and took Kazuya's hand which she used it to help her to stand up.
The three had calmed down and they set off to their nearest station.
The train station in Shibuya.
The train station by Shibuya was full of people as usual. The noise level was also at its normal volume since it was morning. It's few minutes before nine so it's normal for this place to be this busy, people have to go to work after all.
But compare to the daily conversation people have everyday…
"Hey! What's going?"
"Why are you guys blocking the way? I'm late for my work!"
"Just when the hell are you guys gonna let us out?!"
The way to the station was fenced up by the people dressed in military uniform; they stood behind piles of sand bags. Everyone in Japan knows who those people really are.
They are the Self Defense Force, SDF for short.
The SDFs were showered by the complaints and questions from the crowds, there seemed to be some journalists in the crowd as well. The complaints were not only about the train station but the electricity as well.
The power outage still continued from last night.
"Damn it! Even the phone is not working." Atsurou cursed at his cellphone.
"The train really isn't working, is it really because there is a leakage of poisonous gas?" Yuzu grabbed her head as if she couldn't believe from what she was looking at.
"All citizens please pay attention!" One of SDF officers was making an announcement using a sound amplifying device. "Currently, there is a leakage of poisonous gas across the underground tunnel. All stations in the Yamanote Line are blocked. We will lift the block once we have confirmed the area is safe to enter. Please wait patiently until then."
After the announcement was made, there were still complaints from the crowd but after a while the crowd started to disperse.
Except for some people…
"Hey, I don't care whether there is some leakage of gas or sewage! Just let us through! Don't you know it's a pain in the ass to walk?" Some people dressed in funny colourful shirts and shorts swarming around a SDF officer.
"You've been informed already. We will only lift the blockage once we determine that the area is safe. Please wait patiently."
"What!? You expect us to wait without telling us the exact time!?"
The guys were causing a commotion which caught the attention of other SDF officers. It may be dangerous if it continues.
"Hey. You guys."A man, with his brown hair gelled backwards and wearing a blue jersey, approached the troublemakers. "Knock it off, will ya? You are making a scene here."
"Huh!? Are you talking to m-" The troublemaker was surprised to see the face of the man. "Ah! It's Kaido… I'm sorry…"
"…"
Kaido just stood there as the troublemakers walk away, hurriedly as if they were running away from a disaster. The SDFs didn't thank Kaido for resolving the commotion and they just stared at him as he walked away.
"Kaido… ? Is he the Kaido of Shibuya Daemons?"
"Huh? Atsurou, you know who he is?"
It seems like both Atsurou and Yuzu had calmed down along with the crowd so they are now striking a normal conversation.
"Well, not in person." Atsurou began explaining. "His name is Nikaido Tadashi. He is the leader of Shibuya Daemons which is a charismatic gang around Shibuya."
"So since they are the Daemons so you mean they help to protect the peace of Shibuya or something?" Yuzu gave a sigh. "Aren't you reading too much manga lately? Why would gangsters protect peace in Shibuya? Actually what does it mean to protect the peace of Shibuya?"
"Oh, Sodeko! You seemed to have a bright side! Don't you think so, Kazuya?"
While Yuzu was hitting Atsurou, with her handbag, for Atsurou's previous statement, Atsurou was looking around for the disappeared Kazuya. To his surprise he saw that blue-haired boy, with a cat-ear headphone, talking to the leader of Shibuya Daemon.
"Wait! What? Kazu…ya?" Before he could finish he saw Kazuya waving to Kaido and running back to the group.
"Yo, guys. What's up?"
"Don't just 'what's up' me? Hey, did you know who you were talking to just now?"
"Nikaido Tadashi, the leader of the Shibuya Daemons. Also known as Kaido."
"If you know who he is then why did you talk to him? Weren't you scared? I mean he is a gangster."
"Huh? Didn't you just say that he was the leader of a charismatic gang?" Yuzu was surprised by the change of Atsurou's reaction.
"Well, I thought he might know Shibuya well enough so I just asked him a few questions."
"Oh, what a brilliant idea! Kazuya!"
"Woah! Atsurou did another 180 change!"
"So what did you asked?"
"Well, of course I asked him whether there is anywhere out and if he knows where Naoya is." Kazuya took out his phone with Naoya's picture on it. "Since he doesn't know Naoya so I sent him a picture of him to Kaido. He said that he would call us once the cellphones start to work."
"I've got tons of questions for Naoya, especially about this Death Clock thing." Atsurou angrily pointed at something up on his head. Of course he couldn't see the clock.
"I agree, once I find him I'm going to give him a piece of my mind." Yuzu stomped the ground.
"Well, shall we go?" Kazuya tried to calm those two down.
"Huh? Where to?"
"If this station doesn't work, we are going to check on other stations."
"But didn't the SDF say that all stations are blocked?"
"Com'on Sodeko. We should at least try some other stations; there is a chance that some stations are not blocked." Atsurou then pointed at above his head again. "Our priority is to find a way out before this could happen."
"…"
Yuzu couldn't say anything but to agree to what Atsurou just said. So they began walking.
Both Yuzu and Atsurou was at the front, it seems like they are arguing again, and Kazuya was at the back. He deliberately walked slower than the others because he felt uneasy.
There were two things he did not mention to the other two.
One was the other people they saw all had a number 6 on top of their head and the SDFs all have their Death Clock invisible. It seems like something big is going to happen that will kill many people after six days and it won't even affect the SDFs.
Second was that Kazuya also asked Kaido to search for another person.
Yoshino Zan.
Kazuya had a feeling that Zan might be caught in this mess as well.
Around 9:30 in the morning.
"… Please wait patiently until we have determined the area is safe."
Zan was not surprised to hear the same announcement about the blockage from the SDFs in front of the train station of Ebisu.
(After all those crazy things that happened yesterday, this one seems much more normal.)
Looking at the little girl next to him he recalled what she said.
'Everything you saw was real.'
At first Zan wouldn't want to believe it but he had to after finding a white COMP in his bag. The only difference was the irregular red pattern became black. Zan wiped it off after he found out that it was blood that was on the COMP. Originally he wanted to throw it away but Shizune told him to keep it and for some reason he felt he had to keep it.
Zan have already checked the content of the COMP to check for the identity of its owner but it seems like most of the files in the COMP were corrupted. The COMP might be damaged either from being dropped or drenched by the blood.
(The owner might have been attacked by that pervert yesterday… I hope the police don't find it…)
He can be charged for stealing after all.
"Hey."
"Woah!"
A voice came from behind Zan and he was shocked to see a man with a scary looking face.
"Hey, keep it down will ya?" The man, with his spiked brown hair gelled backwards, gave out a sigh. "I had enough with all these yelling this morning."
"Yes, Zan." Shizune who was quietly eating away Zan's snack suddenly spoke. "It's rude to react like that the first time you see him. AW!"
"You the one to talk!" After fisting Shizune, Zan turns to the man. "Sorry about that just now. What is it for calling me?"
"Oh. So you really are Yoshino Zan, huh." The man took out his cellphone and showed Zan his own picture. "Well, it seems like a friend of yours asked me to find you. His name was Minegeshi Kazuya."
"Kazuya!? You met with Kazuya!?"
"Haa… I said enough with that yapping." It seems like he was getting annoyed. "Well, he did tell me to contact him after finding you but it seems like the phones are still down. And it was careless of him not to give me a place to let you guys meet up."
"Ahaha, Zan is just like a lost kid! AW! It hurts!"
"You know, you are also one of those lost kids." This time Zan decided to squeeze Shizune at her head.
"Awawaw! This is child abuse! Watch it! I will call the police!"
"Huh? Please understand that this is D-I-S-C-I-P-L-I-N-E!"
The man, who watched the whole scene of sibling love, gave out another sigh. He must be thinking that kids these days have no tension at all, given the situation they were in they could still play happily like that.
"Osu, Boss!" A man, with curly blond hair, gave a bow to the scary looking man. "Are you having troubles?"
"Hey, Taki. Good timing."
"?"
Taki wears a white T-shirt with some flame pattern at the front. He also had a blue sleeveless vest on top of his shirt and had blue jeans on. He wears a red bandana over his head. His overall image, judging from the way he greets and his clothing, could be said an energetic man who was some punk from an outdated American movie.
Was what Zan thinks when he saw Taki.
"Would you mind taking care of these two kids for me?" The scary man showed Zan and Shizune to Taki. "I need you to get these two lost kids to this person named Minegeshi Kazuya. Here is his picture."
"Osu, Boss! I got it!" Taki raised his voice volume up as if he was in the army. "But do you have any business to attend to? Should I tag along?"
"Well, you don't need to. All you have to do is to find that person for these lost kids." The Boss then turned towards Zan and Shizune. "This is Takeshiki Taki; from now on he will help you find your friend. Feel free to come and find me when you are in trouble. I'm Kaido."
"Oh. I'm Yoshino Zan and…" Seeing Kaido was introducing himself, Zan automatically introduced himself even though Kaido already knew who he was. Zan bowed down and he also tried to make Shizune do the same. "She is Haruyuki Shizune."
Kaido smiled at them and walked away. Leaving only Taki, Zan and Shizune.
"Well…"
"Hey, hey. Zan." Before Taki could say anything, Shizune was pulling at Zan's right hand sleeve. "I dislike that Kaido guy. He called you 'lost kid' twice. He's a bad person."
"I'm sure I heard him saying 'lost kids'." One of Zan's eye brows twitched a little.
"Oi, you two!" Taki forced himself in the conversation with his loud voice. "You know it's rude to talk bad behind Boss's back. You kids should learn some manners."
"And do you know how rude you were for butting in our conversation?" Shizune pouted.
"Well, what do we do if we can't find Kazuya?" Zan tried to change the topic to avoid Shizune to become even ruder to someone taking care of them. "Kaido did say we should find him if we run into trouble, right? How do we get to him?"
"Haha, aren't you belittling Boss too much? Boss is a thoughtful leader of our gang. We have a meeting spot to share information in case if our phone dies. So if we can't find your friend, we will just go find Boss in that meeting place. See! Isn't our Boss great?" Hearing the other two going "Oh~", Taki puffed up his chest as he boast about Kaido.
(I thought this guy was an idiot but to think he is kind of bright. What a surprise.)
"I thought this guy was stupid but to think his brain wasn't rotten. That's a relief." Shizune just made a statement which was similar to what Zan was thinking.
"Hey! That little girl over there!" Taki raised his voice again in anger and approached her.
"Wait, Taki! She is just a girl! She just doesn't know what she is saying!" Zan tried to calm Taki down to prevent violence done to little kids.
"That's why you need to correct them. This is how you teach kids." Taki then bent over to get closer to Shizune who became a bit scared from seeing Taki's furious face.
"Zan~" She looked at Zan with teary eyes. It seems like she was asking for help.
"Hey, Tak-"
"Hey, girl!" Taki suddenly spoke in a loud voice before Zan could. "Why did you make a statement which contains both insult and compliment? You need to make up your mind or else I won't know whether you are praising me or insulting me!"
Shizune was dumb-folded and was staring at Taki blankly.
"Hey, Taki!" Zan had his eyes wide open, as if he just discovered some new species. "Was that the reason why you were angry?"
"Ya. What else? I mean kids these days need to know how to make decisions, right? Little girl." Taki smiled at Shizune who returns an awkward smile to him. "Alright, it's time to move off to find Kazuya!"
Taki's was so loud that other people in the area would think that he was a tour guide.
(With this guy leading us.) Zan applied face-palm with a sigh. (I think we will be seeing Kaido again.)
Around noon in Roppongi Boulevard there was a concert, a mini-concert. There were lots of people, including Yuzu, cheering for the performer or singer on the stage. The performer was known as Haru, which was the information given to Kazuya from Yuzu.
The concert was unlike other concerts which were performed on big stages with big speakers and good lighting. The volume in this concert was low because an amp, powered by battery due to power outage, was used. But regardless of the quality of the equipment the crowd poured their whole heart into cheering for Haru.
This entertainment was what people needed the most at times like this.
Kazuya was sitting on a chair afar from the stage but he still got a good view of both the performer and the crowd. He continued to listen to the song quietly until Atsurou came with a plastic bag.
"Haa… Lucky I was able to get my hands on these. Here." Atsurou gave Kazuya a wrapped sandwich and a can of juice from the plastic bag. "I couldn't believe that the things in the convenient store were almost sold out! Especially food products!"
Kazuya took a sip of the juice, "Well, since it's still summer vacation so most people in Tokyo now are tourists and their only source of food are those from the convenient store." He then took a bite on the sandwich and swallowed it before he spoke. "I'm pretty sure it's the same for other super markets."
"Hahaha… Let's just hope we could find an exit soon. I don't want to eat these every meal." Atsurou bit on his onigiri and looked at Haru and then Yuzu. "Hahaha! Look at Yuzu, she's totally into it!"
"Of course." Kazuya smiled. "She's a big fan of Haru. I remember her always talking about Haru after attending to any of her concerts."
"Yaa… She never seemed to stop talking about that person. Maybe she is famous."
"Excuse me." A man approached the both of them.
The man had black hair at a medium length and is gelled towards the back. It seems like he shaved his mustache except for the part on his chin. He's attire made him look like a waiter from some restaurant. He wears white shirt and grey vest and trouser. His blue neck tie was loose so Kazuya could conclude that he isn't a person that works in big company or sort.
And that familiar orange handbag in his hand really seemed out of place.
"You two boys are friends of Yuzu, right?" The cool man asked them politely.
"Yes, we are… May we help you?" Atsurou answered the man but in an awkward manner.
"Really? Then that saves a lot a trouble." He handed the hand bag to Atsurou. "Yuzu dropped this while she was cheering but I don't want to disturb her… Especially when she is like that."
"Right, I get what you mean." Atsurou nodded in agreement with the man. "That innocent smile of hers right now… is indestructible."
"Hm? You know Yuzu?" Kazuya asked the man.
"Oh, yes. Because of my work so I need to have good memory to remember people's face and names." The man then looked in Yuzu direction and smiled. "And you can't possibly miss someone cheering like that."
"I'm sure the performer would also notice her." Kazuya sighed and smiled at the same time.
"Oh. Sorry for my late introduction." The man extended his hand to the two boys. "My name is Kamiya Eiji. You could refer to me as Gin since that is what everyone calls me by."
"My name is Kihara Atsurou." "My name is Minegeshi Kazuya."
"Nice to meet you."
Both boys introduced themselves to Gin and each of them shook his hand as they do so.
"Haa… The mood would be better if we could introduce ourselves in a better day." Gin sighed. "First was the power outage which almost annihilated my fridge and now the blockage around the Yamanote Line."
"You also took a look around the stations?" Gin's statement strikes Atsurou's interest.
"Yes, I did." Gin folded his arms and closed his eyes as he recalls what he saw in the morning. "I went to various super markets in order to restock what I lost in the power outage. And during that time I passed by many train stations and they were all blocked. It seems like the SDFs also blocked the road."
"Is that so…" Atsurou sighed as he dropped his shoulder in disappointment.
"Where were those supermarkets you went into?" Kazuya asked a seemly strange question, a question that young person like him wouldn't ask.
"Hmm? Well, I went to Ikebukuro, Shinjuku, Shibuya and Ebisu… Is something wrong?"
"So… it's mostly the west side…" Kazuya was muttering to himself, maybe he was thinking and said them out by mistake.
"Oh, so you mean we should try out the east side!? That may be a good idea." Atsurou seems to get what Kazuya was thinking of.
"Hm? You guys are trying to find an exit?" Gin was able to figure out what those boys were planning to do. "Well, I suppose your folks are worried about you with all these problems here in Tokyo. So you better hurry back home quick."
"Ahaha, you don't need to worry about my parents." Atsurou smiled. "Since they are always busy with their work overseas."
"My parents are the best when it comes to staying calm." Kazuya added.
"Hoo~ You two are really independent, huh. Then I suppose you guys are looking for the exit is because of…" Gin looked at the direction of Yuzu and then the boys.
The boys nodded in unison and Gin could see the strange reaction on the two boys had. Atsurou scratched the back of his head nervously and Kazuya averted his eyes away from Gin.
"Hmm, hmm. So this is what people call youth, huh. Then I pray you three are able to get back to your home safely." Gin then walked away while waving his hand to the two. "Feel free to come by my bar in Omotedando when you are in trouble."
The boys stayed silent for a while until Atsurou opened his mouth.
"To leave such a cool line as he leave… I'm sure he's a lady killer!"
"Huh? I know he is cool but isn't that statement a bit too absurd?"
"No, no, no. Kazuya, did you not feel his big brother aura? I'm sure all girls will be all over him since he seems so reliable."
"Hmm~ I think it's time we start searching for the exit. Look, the concert already ended."
"Hey! Don't just ignore me!"
While Atsurou was being pushed back by Kazuya, Yuzu came back to the group with a big smile on her face. It was a smile of satisfaction.
"Hey, guys. What's up?" She asked while smiling.
"Oh~ Looks like our Sodeko is fully recharged." Atsurou stopped the harassment. "Well, you see, we saw this lady ki-"
"Right, right, right. I heard enough already." Kazuya interrupted Atsurou to prevent him from spreading nonsense. "We should be on our way."
"Huh? Where to?" Yuzu also ignored Atsurou.
"We are going to try to find the exit by the east side of Tokyo."
Walking down the street of Shinjuku, a place famous for its karaoke and other electronic stores, Zan and Taki were talking to each other while Shizune happily eats her snacks.
"Murder cases?" Zan was surprised by what he had heard from Taki. Murders were not uncommon these days but it's still surprising to hear such case. "So Kaido went off to investigate about this?"
Taki nodded to Zan's question. "There're lots of murders that's occurring in Tokyo recently."
"I see. Due to the blockage and power outage in Tokyo, people under this situation would be mentally unstable and they would lose their mind if they are continuously exposed to such cases."
"Not only that." Taki made a serious face. "The murders are strange. Did you know that there are rumors about people been bitten to death by a vampire? There was also a case where a student was eaten by some animal in Aoyama residential area yesterday."
"Aoyama? Eaten by animal?" Zan's face turned pale when he heard these words.
Those words reminded the e-mail Kazuya showed him, the Laplace Mail. The power outage and the murder was mentioned in the mail… does this mean the mail wasn't just prank at all but it could really predict the future?
Furthermore, because of his curiosity he encountered a pervert in Aoyama and was chased for his life. He remembered that he fainted during the chase and would've gotten killed by that pervert.
But now he is still alive, why?
Zan held out the paper charm and looked at the pink drawing on it.
(I guess I have to find this person to know what really happened.)
"KYAAAAAAH!" A scream startled the trio. "A- A DEAD PERSON!"
"QUICK! FIND A POLICE!"
Zan looked at Taki and Taki looked back at him. They both nodded and ran towards the source of the commotion while dragging Shizune with them.
:-:-:-:
In an alleyway lays a corpse of a woman. The woman looked like she was killed from the cut on her throat. Blood was all over the wall in the small alley which was caused by the wound in her stomach. The murderer took out all of her organs and flies were swarming around those organs that were next to the corpse.
The scene and scent made the atmosphere around the crowd heavy. There were no cops or other professionals to calm them down.
"Uwaa… That's so cruel…"
"Hey! How many does this make?"
"I think this is the 5th one."
"Huh? What are you guys talking about?"
"Eh? Haven't you heard about the recent murders that occurred around Kanda and Akihabara? All victims died like this with their stomach cut opened."
"How scary…"
"Hey! Will we be alright? I mean we are locked in here!"
"WHERE'S THE COPS?"
"NO! I DON'T WANT TO BE MURDERED! JUST LET ME OUT OF HERE!"
"HEY, WHY THE HELL ARE YOU TAKING A PICTURE FOR?"
"MOVE OUT OF THE WAY! I NEED TO GET TO THE STATION NOW!"
The hearts of the people here are shaken as they think that they could be the next to be killed. Not long before they lose control and making a chaotic scene.
"HEY! DON'T PUSH!"
"LET ME GET OUT OF HERE FIRST!"
"MOVE IT! OR I WILL KILL YOU BITCH!"
"KYAAAA! MOVE YOUR LEG! YOU ARE STEPPING ON ME!"
"AHH! MY BAG! SOMEONE STOLE MY BAG!"
Zan, Taki and Shizune were also caught in this chaos. Zan was holding tightly on Shizune's hand to prevent her from being lost in the crowd and Taki was staying close to them.
"EVERYONE JUST CALM DOWN!" Taki was shouting on top of his lungs but his words were swallowed by the panic of the crowd.
"Taki, what should we do?" Zan had to shout in order to get his words across to Taki.
"I don't know, but we should get out of this crowd as soon as possible. It's getting dangerous."
"Right, le-" Zan paused because he saw someone within the crowd.
The person he was looking for.
The owner of the charm, the miko cosplayer.
"Hey! Wait up!"
The miko cosplayer did not hear what Zan said and she turned into another alleyway. Then Zan felt a tap from his right hand.
It was Shizune, but she was not the usual bratty girl. Zan could see in her eyes, she was giving a cold stare at Zan.
"Go and chase after her." She said in a cold voice he heard yesterday and this morning. Zan noticed that whenever she was holding a certain yunomi (tea cup), she gives him an uneasy feeling. "If you don't, she will die."
"!" Zan had no time to question Shizune because a person's life was on line. He also didn't question himself whether he was capable of doing anything about that, but he knows from his sixth sense that he had to go and find "her". "Taki! Take care of Shizune for a while!"
"Wait! What!? ZAN!" Shizune was forced onto Taki before he even knew it. Due to the crowd, Taki couldn't stop Zan from moving out of his sight.
:-:-:-:
Following through the alleyway the girl went into, the area finally opened up. Rather than opening up, the area was basically a big place surrounded by tall buildings. Because of the tall buildings the place was little dark. There were rubbish and junk lying everyway so it seems like hardly anyone would come to a place like this.
Zan was able to find girl but instead of going to her he hid by the blind spot of the two people. Yes, the reason why he did that was because the girl wasn't alone.
In front of the girl stood a man in a black suit and a long black hat which makes him look like a gentleman who came from London in the 1900s. He wore a pair of thick glasses so it was hard to see his eyes. But the strange thing was that his ears and nose were long with addition to his purple skin.
As soon as Zan saw that man, his heart stopped and his legs begins to tremble because that man looks like the pervert who was chasing him yesterday, except that this man looks more slender. They both gave off the same feeling.
They were not human.
"Question." The man spoke in a high-pitched voice while keeping his hand on his hat. "Is there something you need from me?"
"The demon slaying blade," The girl said slowly. "Where is it?"
"Question. Why would you ask me for that?"
"Don't play dumb! I know you stole it from the Getsuki Shrine!"
"Ah~ that useless junk~" His words made the girl more furious. "I couldn't cut anyone with that, so I threw it away. Maybe someone had picked it up."
"You bastard! You will pay for stealing my heirloom and the murder of those women!"
"Ahahahaha! That's a great expression you have there… Now, last question." A short black blade slid out of his sleeves. "Will you become one of my artwork, little girl? The artwork of this famous JACK THE RIPPER!"
He kicked the ground and dashed towards the girl as he brandishes his blade.
"!" The girl was surprised by his quick movement but she reacted quickly by grabbing a small cloth bag that was hanging on her waist.
Her movement was fluent and made both the sleeves of her cloth and her long brown hair, tied by a ribbon at the end, sway in the air. She took a square paper from the bag and pointed at Jack.
"Agi!" Flame came from underneath of Jack.
"Hmph!" Jack put strength into both his legs and made a jump to escape the attack. He is now clinging to the wall of one building and looking down at the girl.
"Tsk." The girl clicked her tongue as the paper in her hand become dust of ash. She took out another square paper from her bag, "Bufu!"
"Hey-hoh!" Jack jump on to a different building and the place he previously stood was frozen. "Hoh-hoo~. I never knew you were a Demon Tamer."
"Demon Tamer? What's that?" The girl did not show any expression but her voice clearly shows that she was puzzled.
"Oh~ so you are not a Demon Tamer… Hmm…" Jack made a thinking pose with one hand while the other was used to cling onto the wall. "So basically you were using a 'Delay Chanting'."
"!"
"AHAHAHA! Judging from your expression… I was right!" Jack then made a grin. "Then let's see how much more you could still use!"
"Agi!" The flame missed and the girl took out another square paper.
Jack was prepared to jump but he noticed the girl was hesitating in using that paper of hers.
"AHAHAHA! So this is your last one!" Jack jumped down the building and kicked the ground with full force.
"Bufu!" The girl desperately used her paper but the attack missed as Jack jumped into the air.
"NOW YOU ARE MINE!" Jack prepared his blade to cut the girl at her throat when he lands but the girl took out another paper. "What?"
"I never said that was my last 'Delay'." The paper on her hand became ash as she said it slowly. "Fire Dance!"
Multiple flames came out and flew towards Jack who was smiling… wait, smiling?
"Hmph!" Jack swung his blade and cut all the flames in half. The flames disappeared without hitting anything. Jack landed in front of the astonished girl and swung his blade upwards since his stance was messed up by the flames.
The blade torn through the left side of the girl's cloth but that was it. The blade wasn't able to reach the flesh of the girl.
The blade missed wasn't because the girl dodged it. She simply tripped back from stepping on her long red hakama when she tried to step back on reflex. Maybe that trip managed to save her from Jack's attack.
Jack stood up slowly as he look at the helpless girl who was trying to get away from him by kicking the ground with her legs and moving her hands to slide back. She was like a soldier with her gun depleted of all ammunition.
The victor has been decided.
"Since you are going to die anyway so let me tell you why your last trump card didn't work against me." Jack hold out his jet black blade. "'Ripper' is a blade that is able to cut anything and anything cut by it cannot be healed unless its owner is dead."
"…" The girl listened to him as she tried to get back. Both rage and fear could be seen in her eyes. That blade is cheating! and Am I going to die here like this? was running in her mind right now.
"Question. Between a human and a demon, who is best suited as a true predator?" Jack walked slowly towards the girl. For each step he took, she got closer to death by one step. "The answer is 'Demon', because all humans are weak."
:-:-:-:
(What should I do? What were those just now? Demons? Magic?)
Zan was still hidden in the alleyway, but he was confused. After witnessing all that he doesn't know what to do.
(Should I run out and call for help? But if I do, the girl would die!)
He then looked at both of his hands.
(What can a powerless person like me do?)
Really? Is that the reason why you will just let that girl die?
(No…That's not true. I want to save her but…)
You know… your hesitation will result in many regrets in your life.
(Regrets…)
A girl appeared in Zan's mind, a girl from he's unforgettable memory. She was standing there, under the sunset, while her long black hair danced in the air. On that railway, she was smiling at him… a smile which expresses nothing but sadness.
Oh~ so you had one before. Then go, save the life in front of you.
(I will do that without you telling that.) Zan put strength into his legs and stood firm. He still feels fear but it's a different fear, the fear of failing to save the girl.
After a deep breath, he ran towards the girl and Jack.
"Oh~ what do we have here, a guest?" Jack dashed towards Zan at his full speed. "I guess human are not just weak but also idiots."
"Hey! What are you doing?" The girl shouted at the Zan, she closed her eyes because she doesn't want to see what going to happen to that boy.
"THERE IS NO NEED FOR EXCUSE TO SAVE ANYONE!" Zan shouted out loud while dashing towards Jack.
Hahaha! I like your resolve, human.
Then…
Call my name and I will bestow the knowledge of swordplay and war strategies upon you.
(Huh? Swordplay!? War strategies!?)
Call my name and you will earn my loyalty to you.
(I don't care! As long as I could save her!)
Call my name and I will lend you my power.
(I will not fail this time! I WILL SAVE HER!)
My name is…
"MURAMASA!"
"Hurry! Or we will lose him!"
"Huff. Huff. Wait up… Kazuya."
"Watch out! He just turned into another corner!"
The trio; Kazuya, Atsurou and Yuzu were running as fast as they could to chase up to the man they were looking for.
"Naoya!"
They saw him by chance while walking through the street to find the exit or a station that wasn't blocked by the SDFs.
They have been chasing Naoya for a long time, probably 15mins and it's almost 1pm, but for some strange reason Naoya would always appear and disappear around the corners of the streets and alleyways.
It was as if Naoya himself was trying to lead them to some place.
"Damn… haa… haa… We lost him…" Kazuya bent over a bit while positioning his hands on his knees as a support.
"Huff… Huff… I can't go on anymore…" Atsurou was sitting on one of the chair to catch his breath.
"…" Yuzu was doing the same.
They lost sight of Naoya when they entered this famous place, Tokyo Dome City. It contained several of attractions such as the world largest roofed baseball stadium, Korakuen Hall and of course…
"Look! Kazuya! It's the theme park!" Yuzu was pointing at Tokyo Dome City Attractions.
"Haa… Sodeko…" Atsurou sighed at Yuzu. "We were running after Naoya until just now and you still have energy left to be that excited?"
"What's wrong with being excited when seeing a theme park in front of you?" Yuzu pouted. "Don't tell me you don't like this kind of place."
"Well, it's not like I don't like it here. It's just I prefer to stay in my room and enjoy my air-con."
"That's why you are always known as 'Otakurou'!" Yuzu scowled at Atsurou.
"Hey, don't be so harsh on your words, it will hurt my feelings." Atsurou made a sad face, purposely though. "You won't be able to get along with others if you are like that."
"…" Yuzu turned her head away from Atsurou. She decided not to talk to Atsurou for a mean while.
It's not like they are actually fighting or Yuzu really has no friends but it's just a normal exchange of jokes between friends. That's how friends get along with each other, isn't it?
"But talking about air-con…" Atsurou wrapped his arms around the body, an action to keep himself warm. He then approached Kazuya who was silent this whole time. Kazuya had his back facing towards them as he was checking things on his black COMP "Don't you think it's a bit cold around here, Kazuya?"
"Run!" Kazuya said slowly but loudly as Atsurou put his arm on Kazuya's shoulder.
"Eh?"
"I SAID RUN!" Kazuya turn his head to Atsurou. Atsurou was astonished to see Kazuya's face being all pale.
"Huh? Kazuya what's wrong?"
"Right now we are in Bunkyo-ku! If we stay any longer we wi-"
"I HAVE FOUND YOU! HUMAN!"
A loud voice interrupted Kazuya. It was a familiar voice that the trio did not want to hear again. They turned their head to the direction of the voice and saw a figure that was five-meters tall. It has the face of a skull and its fur was white and thick.
"Kyaaaaaaa!" Yuzu screamed first and fell on her bottom.
"Wait… You are kidding me, right…" Atsurou stood frozen from the shock in seeing this figure. "Is this really unavoidable? Are we really going to die here?"
In front of the trio stood Wendigo, the powerful Yeti-like demon which they saw yesterday. It fits the description being a snowman and the trio fits the description of the three victims killed by it. Yes, everything right now fits the incident written on the Laplace Mail.
This was their fate; they were going to be killed by Wendigo.
Atsurou could feel his cold sweat running down his whole body as he thinks about the Laplace Mail. He couldn't move his body… he could feel a huge pressure as Wendigo stare at them. The way a predator stared at its prey with murderous intent.
"Take Yuzu and leave!" Kazuya ran towards Wendigo, his words and action broke Atsurou and Yuzu from their shocked state.
"Wait, what are you doing? Kazuya!"
"No, Kazuya! Don't! YOU WILL DIE!" Yuzu covered her whole head as if she was hoping that this whole incident was just a dream.
"I will stall him here and you guys will take this chance and escape!" Kazuya then gave a smile to them. "I will change our fate… not all of us will die."
Kazuya clenched his fist and was about to reach Wendigo. He knew that he has no chance of winning against this powerful demon but he still has to fight, in order to let the other two to survive. A result which was not written in the Laplace Mail was what he was reaching for.
Then, suddenly, a gust of wind violent pushed Kazuya back and made his back hit the outer wall of Tokyo Dome. The impact made him cough out saliva and almost made him puked.
"Kazuya!" Atsurou and Yuzu shouted his name to display their concern.
He supported himself with one of his hand and the other was holding on to his stomach. He looked up at his attackers, because they were flying. His attackers were two women wearing the same red coat and they have dark-purple wings behind their back. Their red hat made them look like a bird.
"What a failure as a human!" One of the women spat. "He can't even dodge our attack."
"Hey, look at his face! It's like he doesn't know who we are?"
"Hmph, to not to know us, the Moh Shuvuu. What a failure as a human."
(Shit... more Demons? Is this Wendigo's minions?) Zan took out his COMP and shouted. "Kobold!"
There was no response from the COMP and Kobold wasn't summoned.
(Why? Why isn't he coming out?)
"Hmph! It's because I destroyed your only Demon, human." Wendigo explained to Kazuya after seeing his puzzled face. Wendigo grinned. "A Demon that is destroyed cannot fight again. This is your chance, Moh Shuvuu, KILL HIM!"
"We, the evil birds, under Boss's order have come to KILL YOU ALL!"
"HAHAHA! LET'S PLAY MURDER!"
The Moh Shuvuu straighten their dark-purple wings and dived towards Kazuya at high speed. It was a surprise to them that Kazuya did not die from their attack but after seeing what he was capable of, they think he will be an easy prey.
(Damn… with these two here, our chance of survival will drop! Shit, what should I do?) Kazuya clenched his right fist. (I need power to protect them…)
"YOU ARE MINE!" Both of them opened their mouth, revealing their sharp fangs, and were going to bite the blue-haired boy.
(Remember who you are…) Kazuya recalled a voice which he heard from yesterday.
"NOW DI-"
Before the Moh Shuvuu could finish, Kazuya landed a hit on the left cheek of the Moh Shuvuu on the left. Using the additional force, Kazuya used the Moh Shuvuu's body and slammed her on her companion on the right. Both the Moh Shuvuu flew into the wall and the one Kazuya hit directly turned into dust.
"H-How was a human like you have so much power?" Moh Shuvuu expressed her surprise on her face.
"…" Kazuya said nothing but stare at them with his red eyes… red eyes? Kazuya's blue eyes turned red?
"Haha… is that so…" Moh Shuvuu closed her eyes and said before she turned into dust. "So… you… were a Bel…"
Kazuya turned towards Wendigo who was just staring at him. Their eyes met but both exert pressure that cancels each other. Wendigo was raging for Kazuya killing his minions and incident from yesterday; Kazuya was raging for Wendigo trying to take their lives. Like predator met a predator, both parties have only one intention.
Kill.
Kazuya dashed forward. He could feel the power he had yesterday when he defeated the Demons. Yes, just like what Moh Shuvuu said.
It was the power of the Bel.
Even though Kazuya doesn't know what they meant but it gave Kazuya enough power to destroy Demons. He clenched his right fist and threw the punch at Wendigo. It would be all over when the hit connects. Because of this incredible power, none of them will die. He will be able to change their fate. But…
*Thud*
Wendigo blocked Kazuya's attack with his left hand. Kazuya's fist was right in Wendigo's palm.
"!" Kazuya was surprised to see his fist blocked so easily by Wendigo.
"Human! You think that's enough to hurt me?"
Wendigo grabbed onto Kazuya's fist with all his might. Kazuya could feel the pain of his hand being crashed by Wendigo's brute strength. But before Kazuya could make any sound, he was swung up by Wendigo and slammed down onto the ground.
"GUHWA!" Kazuya coughed out blood from his mouth.
"WEAK! TOO WEAK!" Wendigo shouted with a smile and kicked Kazuya in his stomach. Kazuya was sent flying towards a tree and hit his back against it.
If wasn't because of the Harmonizer, Kazuya would've died from the huge damage Wendigo dealt to him. But even if Kazuya was alive, it doesn't mean he is unscathed.
"*Cough* *Cough*" Kazuya was coughing out more blood this time and the intense pain he is experiencing right now was worse than dying.
He tried to sit up by using his hands as support but found out that his right hand was twisted in a bad way. Bones could be seen sticking out of his arm. He also felt intensive pain in his chest. There may have been broken ribs that have pierced through his lungs.
"Kazuya! Are you alright?!"
"no! No! NO!"
Atsurou tried to run to Kazuya and Yuzu was still on the ground trying to deny what she is currently seeing. But they were shocked to hear Wendigo's declaration.
"YOU TRASHS ARE NEXT!" Wendigo started walking towards Atsurou and Yuzu.
"Damn it! ATSUROU! YUZU!" Kazuya panicked to when seeing Wendigo going after the lives of Kazuya's important friends. He extended his left arm and pointed his palm at Wendigo's face. "AGI!"
"GWAAAAAAAAAAAH! FIRE! FIRE! THERE'S FIRE ON MY FACE!" Wendigo's face was covered with fire and he began rolling on the ground due to the pain he was experiencing.
"Now, Atsurou! Take Yuzu and run!" Kazuya shouted in desperate.
"No! We can't leave you!" Yuzu replied faster than Atsurou could. "We can't just leave you behind."
"You idiot! If we all stay here, we will all die!"
"Even so we can't just leave a friend to die!" Atsurou shouted back at him and took out his COMP. "I will not live on from the death of my friend!"
"YOU! IT WAS YOU WASN'T IT?" Wendigo got up, after putting the fire off, and dashed towards Kazuya. "THIS TIME I WILL KILL YOU! I SWEAR I WILL!"
(Damn it, I can't die now. Especially with these two idiots here.)
Kazuya stood up.
(But in order to save them, I need a stronger flame!)
Kazuya clenched his left fist.
(I need a flame stronger than anything!)
[Then will you form a contract with me and accept my flame?] A voice came from the black COMP next to Kazuya's foot.
(I will, I will accept anything in order to save my friends.)
[I see you have a fair amount of Macca but in order to wield my flame you need to have a strong determination.] The voice became more excited. [Tell me, human. PROVE TO ME YOU ARE DETERMINED ENOUGH!]
"THE WILL TO CHANGE OUR FATE WITH MY OWN HANDS!"
[Very well, you are now my master and you can use my flame as you like.] A fire spirit came out the COMP and began entering Kazuya's body. "My name is Flaemis! At your service."
Kazuya could feel his body temperature was rising and his blood was boiling. But it was not painful at all instead he could feel tremendous amount of energy flowing inside his body.
He swung his left fist at the face of Wendigo who was dashing towards him at full speed.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Wendigo received a direct hit in his face and was sent at least 6metres from Kazuya. Wendigo landed on to a line of dirt bins.
"Kazuya?"
"Kazuya… is that really you?"
Both Yuzu and Atsurou were surprised to see the red-hair boy standing in front of them. The boy no longer has his blue hair and it looks like he was emitting some red-colored aura around him. There were also small flames burning on some parts of his clothing, but his clothing was not burning away.
It's like the flames was part of him.
The feeling around Kazuya was different. It's no longer the murderous intention Atsurou and Yuzu felt but a calm feeling of being protected by it.
But that's not what Wendigo felt. He could feel a great pressure from Kazuya, he truly recognize Kazuya as one of the threat that will kill him.
"WHY YOU LOWLY HUMANS DARE TO HIT ME!" He desperately slammed the floor with both his hands. Ice spikes begin to grow out of the ground and headed towards Kazuya.
"KUU!" A gust of wind shattered the ice spikes before it reaches Kazuya.
"Why?" Kazuya turned his head to Atsurou who was currently standing next to him but Atsurou was staring at Wendigo.
"There is no need for you to change my fate, Kazuya." Atsurou took out his blue COMP and smiled. Determination could be seen in his eyes. "I will change my own fate with my own hands... Let's go, Waira!" A dragon-like demon came out of his COMP and begins swirling around him while staying in the air.
Then a light caught Kazuya's attention and saw Yuzu's hands were covering his right arm. Blue light could be seen in Yuzu's hands and Kazuya's pain and the wound fade away. She looked up at Kazuya and gave a smile.
"I will also fight, Kazuya! I will not just depend on you but also help you!" Yuzu summoned a Pixie from her pink COMP and it began casting Dia on Kazuya's chest.
With his injuries fully healed, Kazuya felt that as long as he has these two friends on his side… he could win against anyone. He felt he could get through any obstacle, including fate itself.
Kazuya gave a nod to Atsurou and he replied with a nod.
Kazuya gave a nod to Yuzu and she replied with a nod.
"Let's do this, guys!" Kazuya then stepped forward and gave a shout that was full of spirit. "We'll change our fate!"
I was cornered by Jack the Ripper after running out of all of my 'Delays'. In order to beat him I need to use 'Chanting' which will require some time to pull off. But he was just simply too fast for that and I won't even have time to chant the words.
Then, a black-hair boy came charging towards Jack and me. The boy looks familiar… that's right, I have seen this boy. Not once but twice.
First time was when he bumped into me and helped me to pick up my charms. We were there by Shibuya. The second time was when I managed to save him from being killed by an ogre in that forest near Aoyama Cemetery .
And now he was simply just charging towards us and shouting something that I couldn't hear.
"Oh~ what do we have here, a guest? I guess human are not just weak but also idiots." Jack dashed towards the boy.
"Hey! What are you doing?" I couldn't help but to shout that.
(I mean is he stupid? I didn't save him so he could waste his life on this!)
I put my hands on my eyes because the outcome was obvious already. I don't want to see the scene of him being sliced up by Jack.
"GYAAAAAAA!"A scream could be heard in front of me.
I was already expecting a scream when the boy was within Jack's reach. But unlike the scream I was expecting, the voice of the scream was a bit higher in pitch. It was Jack who was screaming in pain and this made me opened my eyes to understand what actually happened.
I saw Jack first as he was pressing his left hand on the wound of his right hand. It seems like his knife has disappeared, along with his right hand that was holding it. I could see his painful and astonished expression as none of us believed to see this outcome. Jack was staring furiously at the boy.
The boy was in between us.
I could only see his back from my position but I could feel something was different about this boy. Unlike the wimp I saw yesterday who was so scared from seeing an Ogre, now he stood there face to face with a Demon much more powerful than Ogre.
Another strange thing was that he was holding a strange blade, looks like a katana, on his right hand. The shape of the katana wasn't strange but the color; it's red hilt and purple blade makes it looks like a Demon sword.
"Question. Despite being all weak and powerless among all the predators, who are the ones that stands at the top of the food chain?" The boy said slowly with a cold tone.
"..." Jack's face twisted in a weird way. It's like he was angry either because of his hand that was cut off or the boy stole his line purposely.
The boy then pointed his katana to Jack and said:
"The answer is Human."
"-"-"-"-"
Author's Note:
Thank you for taking your time to read this.
This chapter was suppose to be longer (I was planning for a "one day" per a chapter ) but I think I wrote too much useless statements in the story that made it this long. So I decided to make it into parts.
Many of you would have realized that the story follows the game and manga closely.
Well, to be honest I don't have much original idea when it comes to writing a fanfic but writing a story about a story that already exist is boring. That's why I decided to add in OCs and original stories to my fanfic and while following the plot of Devil Survivor 1 (But I will avoid events that has nothing to do with the story and alter some of the plot to get OCs and main characters to interact).
So wait patiently for the next chapter. (Dunno when I will be finished.)
Some side-notes (Don't need to read... actually you don't even need to read Author's Note at all):
*I started re-watching Persona 4 a few days ago (the last time I watched it was in 2011, i think) and found out the battle in the 1st episode is so about the same as the first battle in the first chapter. Lol, quite a coincident but I think most manga and anime start battles like this so nothing important.
*I did say I was trying to generate the feeling of fear on the first chapter but while I write this chapter my old habit kicked in and some part of the manga became a little bit weird. Yes, I love comedy, especially Tsukomi and Boke, so because of this it made Yuzu out of it's really difficult for me to make characters to stay as themselves because I might not be able to resist making a comedy duo out of them.
*I have been wondering about fighting Demons without a COMP. From what I gathered, the COMP is used in replacement for ritual to summon Demons and activate skills or magic. Since Amane was able to summon Demons without a COMP so I created an OC who using the old ritual to fight against Demon. But since she will most likely just get her ass kicked during her chanting so I used the idea of "Delay Chanting" from Negima Sensei where the user chant the spell beforehand but stops at a certain point so the chanting is only complete when you say the last piece.
*It quite hard for me to write fight scenes but I don't want to write about Kazuya just standing in one place and summon Demons to fight. I added some things to him. Will explain later.
03/07/2015 - Edited for some mistakes and changed to past tense