Phase 2: Parallel Worlds

It was the middle of the morning and the city was lively and full of people. In one of the streets of the central district, Touta was riding the Aeria Bike. He kept it at a moderate altitude that reached the three-story buildings. Right now, he was riding on a place where a giant tree located in the middle of the city could be seen close. He knew not too much people had to be flying around this zone, so he took the liberty to rise the speed.

Touta had two passengers with him. The phoenix-like shikigami Asama was resting on his shoulder. Her owner, Kuroha, was sitting behind him and tightly holding on to Touta's waist. She didn't seem to be enjoying the ride in the slightest. It was probably due to the level of speed not being of her liking.

Normally, Touta would be happy to have a cute girl clinging on to him, but he couldn't enjoy it right now. The thin arms around him were incredibly strong; he was running out of air. His face started to turn blue as he felt his abdomen area getting crushed.

"Hey, you back there!" Touta raised his voice. "Stop holding on so tightly! If I pass out from lack of oxygen, the following free fall is on you!"

"You're the one driving way too fast!" Kuroha said in her defense.

"I'm driving just fine! You're the one acting like some brat getting on an amusement park attraction for the first time!" Touta talked back.

"I have no idea of what any of that means, but I can tell it's an insult!" Kuroha put even more strength in her arms around Touta. The boy heard his bones cracking and felt like his organs were about to come out.

"Stop that! You're seriously going to cause an accident!" Touta said in his struggle to keep his oxygen. Kuroha immediately lowered the pressure of her arms to a normal level. It took Touta a couple of minutes to breathe normally. "Besides," Touta talked normally again. "I'm not getting the proper atmosphere from this 'Driving your Bike with the Heroine' event! For one, shouldn't I feel some soft 'boing' on my back? I didn't think I would get a heroine this lacking!"

"Huh?" Kuroha deeply frowned in confusion and irritation.

"However," Touta turned to look at his nervous passenger's face. "Your face and the rest of you more than makes up for that. Yes," Touta nodded and gave a thumbs-up. "As Ikkuu-san said: Pettanko are great, too!"

"Touta-kun, I am sure of it now. You need to go and see a medic. Your blabbing is an unmistakable symptom of brain damage," Kuroha sighed. "Although, it's possible the explosion from before is not to blame for that."

While Touta was still distracted, Kuroha looked ahead of the road. There was a broomstick flyer in front, about to crash into them.

"Touta-kun! Eyes on the road!"

"Oops!" Touta exclaimed. He abruptly moved to the side, causing the vehicle to spin around in the air. Kuroha cried in panic as she saw the world spinning in front of her eyes. "Shit, that was close!" Touta said in relief once they stopped. He went ahead more slowly while the broomstick flyer yelled at them that they should be more careful.

"Touta-kun! Are you sure you know how to ride this thing?!"

"Of course!" he assured with a thumbs-up. "It's my first time with this model, but I rode one of these before and it went great! I only crashed it once!"

"Are you some kind of thrill seeker?!" Kuroha exclaimed exasperated. "I am starting to think it was a bad decision to get on this thing with you…"

Touta looked back at Kuroha and took a deep breath. "Sorry, I'll be careful," Touta said as he started lowering the speed.

Now feeling more at ease, Kuroha was able to relax a bit and take a look at the surroundings. She couldn't help but to be amazed by the sight of the magic vehicles flying around her and Touta. She observed the streets below them and from the distance, the crowds of people seemed like a giant mass moving all over the place.

"I had never seen so many people in one place before. Is this normal for the cities of the modern Japan?"

"No kidding. I would say today it's pretty calm. You should see it on holidays, Kurou-rin. It gets so crazy that the crowd could drag you down like a wave!"

"You make it sound a bit dangerous, Touta-kun…" Kuroha said nervously. Her expression soon changed into a frown. "Wait a second! What was that you called me?"

"Huh? Oh," Touta grinned. "Kurou-rin! How is it? I settled that's the pet name that suits best!"

"Quit that childish nickname this instant!" Kuroha demanded.

"Huh, don't you like it?" Touta put his hand on his chin. "Fine, I have other options: Kurou-tan, Kurou-chi, Kuryu, Kyu-chan, Mikoko" Touta counted the proposed nicknames with his fingers.

"You sure like corny nicknames, do you not? And why only the last one there is off pattern?" Kuroha deadpanned. "Anyway, I do not like to have my name twisted like that. Stop it now."

Touta laughed. "I'll do that if you drop the '-kun' and call me plain ol' Touta," he conditioned, which caught Kuroha off guard.

Kuroha gasped. "What?! But we just met! To address you with such familiarity so quickly is just so…!"

"That's cool, no pressure here. You can stop with the honorifics when you feel like it. Until then, though, you'll be Kurou-rin to me."

Kuroha huffed. "Do whatever you want. I have a feeling you won't stop with the silly naming no matter how much I tell you to."

"You're not wrong about that," Touta grinned. "So, let's go back to the topic from before. You were saying this is your first time seeing the city, right?"

"Yes. I have lived my entire life in my village, located on an island in the far south. This is my first time in the mainland."

"I see. That means you're one of those coming here to look for new opportunities, right? Even those in the far-off country all want to come to the core of the new capital. This is the perfect place to become part of the new world system."

"Eh? Core of the new capital? Is there something special about this city?" Kuroha asked innocently.

Touta gave her a look of disbelief. "You don't even know what this city is?! How can you come to the pinnacle of the new world and not even know about it?"

"I-It cannot be helped! My tribe cut off any connection with the mainland a long time ago!"

"Well, that sucks for you. If you have no sense of direction, why are you here for anyway and all alone on top of that? Do you have anyone to meet or anything like that?"

Kuroha shook her head. "I have no one to meet. I am here because there is something I must do for the sake of my tribe. And it's of no concern to those of the mainland," she said as if having no intention to reveal anything else.

Touta sighed at the tight-lipped response. "Well, whatever that's about, right now we are looking for that mask of yours. At least could you tell me where you were before you fought that Tanaka? Maybe we can find your mask around there."

"I… cannot say."

"Eh?! What's up with that? Listen, if you only want to play at keeping secrets-"

"That is not what I meant. I really do not know where I have been before facing that machine. All these streets look too similar to me."

Touta facepalmed. "It would be easier to look for a needle in a haystack, then."

Kuroha sadly frowned. "That is why I told you this was a waste of time, Touta-kun. We should just forget about it and-"

A karate chop dropped on top of Kuroha's head. It wasn't too hard, but the impact still hurt a bit. She looked up and saw Touta with a disapproving expression on his face.

"What's that quitter talk?!" Touta exclaimed, taking Kuroha aback. "Are you really the warrior that trashed that Tanaka? Your mentor taught you to never give up without a fight, didn't she?"

As she rubbed her head, Kuroha replied with a soft single nod.

"If you have something precious to you, never abandon it and always try to keep it close. That's what my parents always told me!" Touta lifted up one of his arms with energy. Asama on his shoulder mimicked his action. "Let's keep searching 'till the end! We'll find your mask even if we have to look on every corner of the city!"

Kuroha raised an eyebrow. "You sure are awfully positive, Touta-kun." Her expression then softened. "That… isn't a bad quality, though."

Hearing that, Touta thought that was Kuroha's way of giving a compliment. His cheeks reddened and he started scratching his head to hide his embarrassment. Once again, he stopped paying attention to the road in front of him. Kuroha saw a large ship shaped like a whale flying towards them.

"Touta-kun! Look ahead! Do you have a death wish or something?!"

In her panic, Kuroha grabbed Touta by the neck. She didn't realize she was strangling him until the boy's face turned blue and he was about to pass out.

A couple of hours later, the search for the mask had made no progress. Touta and Kuroha tried to look on the streets close to the Tanaka attack and ask people if they had seen the mask, but they had no luck. Running out of options, the two decided to sit on top of a roof and think of other options.

"In the end, we couldn't find it anywhere around here," Kuroha said, sounding depressed. She petted her red bird Asama on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort herself.

Touta sighed heavily. "Yeah… Since you don't know where you lost it, it gets harder to find where to look at. Besides, someone might have picked it up and…"

Touta stopped himself when he saw Kuroha surrounded by a dark aura.

"I told you it was useless…" Kuroha said in an incredibly pessimistic tone.

Touta sighed heavily and gave Kuroha a noogie. "Turn off that gloomy aura. It's depressing."

"Hey!" Kuroha protested. She tried to punch Touta back, but he dodged her fist on time.

"I'm telling you it's still too early to give up, Kurou-rin," Touta folded his arms. "We will find it, you'll see! We just have to find more places to look at!" Touta was spreading his arms and smiling brightly.

Kuroha hugged her knees and looked at Touta with a confused frown. "You are awfully optimistic, Touta-kun."

"There you go again. I get that a lot," Touta responded with a laugh.

"To be honest, it is getting kind of irritating," Kuroha added in deadpan.

Touta looked at Kuroha, annoyed. "And you're surprisingly mean for someone who speaks so politely."

"Sorry for that," Kuroha huffed. She then hugged her knees more tightly. "No, seriously. I owe you an apology, Touta-kun. You do not even know me and my current problem has nothing to do with you. Still, you are taking your time to try and help me look. You even let me get on your vehicle. Yet, here I am talking about giving up and getting frustrated that you are the one that keeps persisting. I am such a person, but you still," Kuroha turned to the side to face Touta. She bowed her head in shame and regret. "I am so sorry!"

Kuroha felt another karate chop hitting her head. This time hurt a lot more than the last. She looked up to find Touta with a more annoyed expression than before.

"Stop that now, you drama queen," Touta started pulling Kuroha's cheeks. "You don't have to apologize for anything here. I'm here because I felt like helping you out. Man, you sure like to make a big deal out of small things, don't you?" Touta said with a teasing grin.

"You," Kuroha gritted her teeth. Touta laughed at her expression as he let go of her cheeks. Kuroha stared at the boy as she massaged her cheeks. "I still do not understand why would you go this far for a complete stranger. Have you not considered I could be someone suspicious?"

"Someone with such a nice face would never be suspicious," Touta winked, causing Kuroha to blush a bit. Without him realizing, Touta's face blushed a bit as well. He chucked as he scratched his cheek with one finger. "Besides, helping out a cute girl in trouble is just the natural thing to do."

Touta relaxed by lying down on the roof, putting his hands on the back of his neck. A second later, a tsurugi sword was stabbed next to his head. His body was shaking from the perceived death intent. Above him, he found Kuroha standing beside him, her bird shikigami still on her shoulder. She was staring back at him with a terrifying expression.

Touta gulped as he felt the sweat in his face. "Huh, Missy…?"

Kuroha's expression grew angrier. She sank the sword deeper into the roof. Sweat was uncontrollably streaming down Touta's face.

"Do NOT call me that," Kuroha said in a deep and threatening voice.

"C-Call you what?" Touta's voice kept shaking.

"That you said. 'Girl' and 'Missy'," Kuroha said the last words with hint of disgust. "I am not a woman. I won't stand to be called as such!"

Touta blinked. It took him a few minutes to assimilate what he heard. "Not a woman? How come? Aren't miko all girls?" Touta gasped. "Wait! Does that mean," Touta made the most serious expression he had made yet. "Are you one of those ultra girly dudes that get mistaken for girls all the time?!"

Another tsurugi sword came down to the opposite side of Touta's head. This one grazed his cheek, leaving a small bleeding cut.

"Excuse me, I reacted on reflex. No one ever asked me such a dumbfounding question before," Kuroha's eyes were looking even scarier. "While I am in no way feminine, I never expected to look like a man to others."

"That's not it! S-Sorry," Touta softly waved his hands to try and calm Kuroha down. "It's just I've seen a lot of series with guy characters like that. Some that weren't exactly guys, even. There's also this old videogame with a super feminine dude that dressed like a miko, too. Just to make sure that wasn't your case…"

"It is not," Kuroha said forcefully. She closed her eyes. "I threw away any regards to gender long ago to focus on becoming someone fit to serve my tribe. The me right now is neither a man nor a woman."

"Oh!" Touta tapped his palm with his other fist. "I see! It's the 'Woman who gives up her femininity to be a warrior' pattern. That's much simpler!"

"That you are categorizing me like that gets me extremely annoyed," Kuroha scowled. "Whatever you are thinking, my case is not simple at all. I… have really given up my womanhood," she softly put a hand over her chest. "Even if I wanted to be a woman, this body does not have any qualities for it."

"Now you're talking nonsense! Kurou-rin is a super cute girl," Touta gave her a reassuring smile. "Be more confident!"

Kuroha looked down at the boy lying on his back. It was a wonder to her that he could still smile like that with two swords planted inches away from his head. She took a deep breath and deeply frowned. "You do not get it."

"I think I do," Touta raised a thumbs-up. "Everything is cool! An iron board chest doesn't have to get you down."

A third tsurugi sword was stabbed an inch away from the top of Touta's head. He could see the bits of his hair flying around.

"Hey, just how many of these do you have anyway?" Touta asked nonchalantly.

"Asama can keep dozens of spare swords inside," Kuroha answered. The shikigami lifted her head and wings as if showing off her pride.

"Alright, I get it," Touta said as calmly as he could. "I won't call you a girl or anything like that. Would you stop throwing swords at me?"

Kuroha didn't say anything back. After a minute, she softly nodded. She casually had her swords absorbed by Asama's jewel. She processed to sit down on the roof like nothing had happened.

Touta quickly sat back up and tried to focus on getting some air. While he already saw how tough she could be, he didn't think Kuroha could be this scary. Despite that, he couldn't help to think she looked kinda hot like that.

"I apologize," Kuroha said, back to her normal gentle voice. She looked back at Touta and lowered her head a bit. "I overreacted."

Touta raised his eyebrows. That was drastic change of mood. He put his hand on the back of his head as he gave an apologetic smile. "Nah, my bad. I said pretty stupid things, too. Consider us even."

"But I should not have gotten so angry when you referred to my gender," Kuroha tightly hugged her knees. "I knew you did not mean it in a bad way, yet I…"

Touta gave Kuroha a strong pat on the back. It took her out of composure quite a bit. "I said it's nothing, you silly. Don't dwell on trivial things so much!" Touta looked at her with a carefree grin. "I have no idea why you're so sensitive about that, but I bet you have good reasons for it. Does your family have super old-fashioned stereotypes of gender roles or something like that?"

"Um," Kuroha nervously played with her fingers. "Something like that, but also not exactly that," her eyes lowered. "All that talk about how men and women should be, I do find it irritating," she bit her lip as she held both her hands together. "I considered the matter of gender as worthless. I pursued nothing but strength, even if it meant living as neither female nor male. Being viewed and treated as a woman after that… just feels wrong to me. That is all."

"Then, you can relax," Touta put his hand on Kuroha's shoulder and raised a thumbs-up with his other hand. "Kurou-rin is Kurou-rin. Gender has nothing to do with it! So, you can forget all that complicated stuff and be whatever you want to be!"

Touta declared that with a wink and a huge smile. Kuroha kept staring at him in silence for minute. She looked down as she thought what to say back.

"I feel relieved to hear that," she lifted her head, her lips forming an honest and gentle smile. "Thank you, Touta-kun."

It was the first time Touta saw her making an expression like that. He always thought she was pretty, but she now looked more beautiful than she did before. Her face was practically shining. Was this really the girl who looked so scary as she almost stabbed him in the head?

"Mega cute!" Touta thought to himself as he gulped. Before he realized, he felt the heat in his face rising.

"Touta-kun," Kuroha blinked. "Are you sure you feel well? Your face is red again."

"N-No! It's nothing," Touta slapped his own cheeks. He folded his arms and looked away. He really hoped the red in his face was gone by now.

"Eh, Touta-kun," Kuroha started. "We got off topic, but I am still in hurry for my mask…"

"Yes, Kurou-rin!" Touta gave her the pointing finger. He was relieved they could change the subject now. "The mask, the mask! That's the important thing right now! You should at least tell me where you were going before the Tanaka attack. That could give us a super important clue!"

"Oh well, I suppose could tell you that…" Kuroha said while scratching her cheek with her finger. She then pointed towards the distance in front of her and Touta. Not sure of what Kuroha was pointing at, Touta looked in the signaled direction, confused.

"I intended to take a closer look at that giant tree," Kuroha said.

Touta and Kuroha's attention focused on the single most outstanding view in the landscape. A giant tree that could be spotted in every part of the city. Besides its enormous size, what made it stand out the most was the intense red glow that surrounded the tree. Right now, Touta and Kuroha were in one of the districts closest to the tree, being no more than three kilometers away.

"The World Tree?" Touta questioned, visibly surprised. "Yeah, I guess it must be impressive to look at for a tourist like you."

Kuroha frowned. She was sure Touta was teasing her again. "From the moment I arrived here, I was… curious about that tree. I tried to get closer to it. However, I realized there was an immensely strong magic barrier around it and-"

"Hold on, you tried to get into the forbidden plaza?! Why the hell would you do that?! Do you want to get yourself arrested?!" Touta exclaimed, seeming shocked for some reason.

"What do you mean? Is it that bad to get close to that tree?" Kuroha asked innocently as usual. Touta facepalmed at that.

Touta sighed once again and scratched his head. "Listen, Kurou-rin. Since you're new around here, there's a few things you need to know. First of all, that tree over there is no ordinary tree. It's the famous World Tree. It's like the fountain of all the magic force in the planet. Not only that, right now, the entire world depends on it to keep existing."

"How can the world depend on a tree? That is absurd. Tell me the truth already," Kuroha appeared to take it as a joke.

Touta facepalmed as he gave out another sigh. "Just how behind the times are you? Did your village really keep you that ignorant or did you time travel from another time period?"

Kuroha responded by strongly pulling Touta's ear, causing him to squeal in pain.

"What is it about that tree that I should know, then?" Kuroha asked while releasing Touta's poor ear.

Touta rubbed his red ear as he continued to talk. "It's a pretty complicated and long history of magic, heroes and adventures."

"Heroes and adventures?" Kuroha asked in a rare child-like curious voice. "There are heroes in the mainland?"

"Of course, there are! This is the era where magical heroes are known all over the world," Touta said. "But the greatest group of heroes is still Ala Alba, the ones who saved the world with that tree!"

Kuroha tilted her head. "Ala Alba? Never heard of them..."

Touta gasped. He shook his head, looking at Kuroha with incredible pity. "For you to have never heard of Ala Alba… Hey, country bumpkin. Does your village at least know what electricity is? I'm doubting it."

Touta once again felt powerful hands trying to rip his ears off his head.

"Instead of mocking me, you could tell some of the story of those 'Ala Alba' people. I am getting interested," Kuroha demanded as she let go of Touta's ears.

"Fine, fine," Touta agreed while rubbing his ear. "For the extra short version, Ala Alba was this group made of very cool and crazy strong people. The team and their allies had members of all sort of different races. They were the bridge between both worlds and a symbol of peace for all communities. Using the World Tree as a magic power source, they saved the people of this world and the Magic World."

"The Magic World? Are you talking about that artificial world that was located on an alternate space on Mars? My tribe told me it was fated to disappear sooner or later. Not that it mattered to us," Kuroha said while looking downwards for a moment.

Touta blinked in surprise. "You do know some of this stuff, after all! Well, what your tribe told you wasn't wrong. The original Magic World couldn't keep existing like that. To make it worse, there was an evil overlord with a plan to 'save' the Magic World that would have made more bad than good. That's where Ala Alba and their allies stepped in. After a series of epic battles, they defeated the villain and saved both worlds. Happy ending."

"I see," Kuroha nodded. "But how did they save the other world? Ala Alba must have somehow restored that alternate world so it could continue existing in Mars. Is that correct?"

"Not at all. The original Magic World in Mars went to hell," Touta said nonchalantly.

"What?! You just told me Ala Alba saved both worlds! Then, why did they let one of them disappear?! Are you saying all the people in that world is-?!"

"That's not it! Let me explain!" Touta said while grabbing her shoulders to calm her down. "Geez, Kurou-rin. If you say your tribe doesn't care for the Magic World, why do you panic like that?" Touta said with an insinuating grin.

Kuroha flushed at this, realizing she flipped. "I-I just wanted to make sure you weren't getting details wrong in your story," she said before clearing her throat. It was a poor attempt to reassume her aloof front.

Not being fooled, Touta made a knowing smile at Kuroha. He took a deep breath before continuing. "As I was saying, the Magic World was doomed, but Ala Alba saved the Martian people. Once it was clear the Magic World couldn't last much longer, the wizard society decided to bring the Martians to Earth. However, it was a pain because this world obviously wasn't big enough to take in refugees of an entire world. It got sorted out thanks to a secret power Ala Alba discovered in the World Tree that created the extra space needed."

Kuroha crossed her arms as she raised an eyebrow. "And what secret power was that? How could it create space for a whole other world?"

"That up there," Touta signaled upwards.

Both teenagers looked at the sky. They saw the blurry image imprinted above the clouds. It appeared an illusion at first glance. But when you carefully looked at it, you could realize the image resembled an aerial landscape of the Japanese land below.

"Spatium Reflexio. The Reflection Dimension. It's a parallel world created with the power of the World Tree," Touta explained.

Kuroha went wide-eyed in disbelief. "You mean that up there is a world of its own? I thought it was just some kind of evil Western magicians of the mainland had made befall on the sky."

Touta laughed at Kuroha's statement, gaining a glare from her. He then continued.

"It's not exactly a world of its own, but sort of what you call a pocket dimension or a mirror world. We can see the other world reflected in the sky, but it's not really in the sky either."

Kuroha made a confused frown. "Then, that world in the sky is an alternate plane?"

"That's not exactly it," Touta rested his chin in his fist. He tried to think of an easy explanation, nearly burning his brain in the process. "This isn't like when the Magic World was on Mars. Our world and the Reflection Dimension aren't completely separated. They exist in the same plane, but they're split inside it. I think the reason was some sci fi mumbo jumbo involved. Or something like that…" Touta finally groaned and rubbed his head with his hands.

Touta knew he was a terrible expositor. Not even he was sure what he was talking about! He was sure he only made Kuroha confused and tired with his half-assed explanation.

"Arg, sorry. I was never the best student when it came to all that magic tech babble of the pocket dimensions. Bet I'm boring the hell out of-"

"That all sounds fascinating," Kuroha said, surprising Touta. He found her still staring at the sky. "When I arrived to the mainland, I knew it was nothing I ever could imagine from what I knew in the village. But to think so many inconceivable things have happened in the world since we left to the island. Everyone in the tribe would be baffled."

Touta frowned. There was something about Kuroha's hometown that bugged him. "Hey, how come your tribe is cut off from everything in that small island, anyway?"

Kuroha looked away before responding. "The entire clan left the mainland because of some circumstances many years ago. We settled on the island to live our way in peace. It was decided we would never allow ourselves to get involved in matters of the outside world. Same goes for not letting outsiders meddle with our affairs. That has been our one and only law for a long time."

Touta tilted his head in confusion. "Is this clan of yours some super exclusive elite or something? Because that doesn't sound normal at all."

"That is right. My tribe is different," Kuroha looked back at Touta.

Touta snorted. "Different seems like a huge understatement there."

Kuroha serenely closed her eyes. "I know you people of the mainland may think there is something wrong with us for the way we choose to cut ourselves from the world. However, my village is the most peaceful place I know. We are all content with the way things are. I do not think it would be the same if we had stayed on the mainland."

"Yeah, but," Touta trailed off. "That sounds boring as hell!"

"Boring?" Kuroha blinked. "That was not the response I expected at all…"

"Well, I mean," Touta put his hands behind his head. "If I had to live my entire life without ever leaving my hometown, not knowing what's going on anywhere else, nothing new ever happening and never meeting people from different places," he huffed. "I think I would die of boredom," he gasped. "No! The worst of all would be to never get my manaphone or access to internet! That's just living hell!"

"You are really something, Touta-kun," Kuroha sighed. "Since I grew up in my village, I do not understand why you would need any of those things."

"About that, Kurou-rin," Touta awkwardly dry washed his hands. "Were you fine with your clan living like that? Didn't you ever wish to see what was beyond that island?"

Kuroha contemplatively stared up and crossed her arms. After a minute, she finally answered.

"I do not know," she shrugged. "Even if I was not allowed to leave until recently, I never had any reason to depart from the island. I grew up there. All my world was there," she trailed off. "But…"

"But?" Touta asked.

"I did hear stories of the outside world from my mentor," Kuroha glanced to the side. Her eyes had a nostalgic look in them. "She told me about places she had been and things the people of the mainland made which we do not have in the village. Like books and poetry. Because of that, I… did think the mainland probably was not a bad place," Kuroha started playing with her fingers. "Now, I am here to see the outside world with my own eyes. However," her eyes narrowed. "I am not sure of what I should think. It is so much bigger than I ever imagined. Also, it is so different from what my mentor recounted." She sighed. "That is probably why I did not really think about leaving the village before. Everything in this strange world is just so confusing to me."

Finishing her monologue, Kuroha stared at the city with a tired, indifferent look in her face. Touta stared at her in concern. Somehow, the atmosphere suddenly got heavy and he hated how it felt. But his eyes widened as soon as he got an idea to light up the mood.

He then patted Kuroha on the back and smiled at her. "Is that so? Good you have a guide now, then! I can tell you all you need to know about this city! As long as it's not about magic systems and technology because I suck at it!"

Kuroha looked back at him, surprised. "You wouldn't mind to explain all that to me?"

"Of course not! As long as you're fine with some half assed exposition from this simpleminded boy," Touta said while making a goofy face.

"It is fine. Touta-kun does not seem like the type who would lie, after all," Kuroha replied with soft eyes.

Touta smiled widely. Sounded like Kuroha saw him as someone trustworthy, at least. "First of all, you have to learn what this place is. It's quite a bummer you don't know one of the most important cities in the new world," Touta took a look at the Aeria Bike he had parked in the roof. He smirked as he got an idea. "You know, I should give you a first-class view," he said as he took Kuroha by the wrist and forced her to get up with him. He guided her to the Aeria Bike and had her get on it with him with her carrying Asama in her arms.

"Touta-kun, what are you doing all of a sudden?"

"You'll see," Touta said with a wink. "Hold on tight!"

Kuroha didn't understand what he meant, but before she could ask, Touta started riding full speed towards the sky. Kuroha held tighter than ever to Touta's waist as if her life depended on it, her eyes firmly shut.

They abruptly stopped, but Kuroha didn't let her guard down. She kept her eyes shut while tightly clinging to Touta's back on one arm and holding Asama on the other.

"Open your eyes, Kurou-rin! Look at the world for yourself!"

Although a bit reluctantly, Kuroha opened her eyes. She found that Touta had landed on top of the city's clock tower; one of the tallest buildings to be found there. What she saw in front of her was the most magnificent view she had ever seen before.

There was the landscape of the whole city, big enough that it seemed like a state. The whole scene was filled with monumental structures, buildings and some giant statues that looked massive even from such altitude. Flying ships and whales were sailing through the sky. For a minute, Kuroha thought she was looking at the fantastic land of some fairy tale.

"This is…" that was all Kuroha could say as she got off the Aeria Bike sit. She made a few steps on the top of the clock tower as she processed the scenery in front of her.

Touta followed her and stood beside her. He held out his hand as to introduce her to it all. "Welcome to Mahora Magicus City! A few decades ago this was a mere academy city. Ala Alba transformed it into the new capital where both the human and magic communities of both worlds coexist and socialize. Amazing, isn't it?"

Kuroha's eyes widened in wonder at the sight. "I… never saw something like this, Touta-kun," Kuroha said as she looked on towards the city landscape with eyes of admiration. Without even her realizing, her lips formed a small smile.

As Kuroha admired the marvelous scenery he was already used to, Touta took the chance to check out Kuroha once again. No matter how many times he did it already, he still couldn't believe how beautiful she is. Her long raven hair flew freely with the wind and the sun made her face shine. It was something worthy of a portrait. Taking advantage that she wasn't paying attention to him, Touta took a few pictures of her with his manaphone. He was definitely going to print them later.

It wasn't only her beauty what have him intrigued. For some reason, he couldn't help but feel there was something supernatural about Kuroha. She definitely didn't give off the feel of a regular person, but of something not of this world. He didn't know what, though. The story she gave him about her tribe also was suspicious and she was purposely avoiding many details. Just what was this miko, really?

Kuroha caught him staring and slightly frowned. "Touta-kun, why do you keep looking at me like that?"

Getting out of his thoughts, Touta felt his face heat up. He turned his eyes to the city while laughing, trying his best to not seem flustered. "I just always love to see the city from such a good spot," he put his hands behind his head and grinned while making a wink. "Today, the view is hundred times better thanks to Kurou-rin's radiant face!"

Kuroha's face turned red. She closed her eyes as she tried her best to keep her composure. "A-anyway, I do thank you for going out of your way to let me see this, Touta-kun," she cleared her throat, still feeling the heat in her cheeks. "But we are supposed to be looking for my mask and I really need to get this done before sunset. I let myself get distracted by your tales, but I think we should focus back on the search."

"Yeah, you're right!" Touta agreed. "But we're in serious trouble there. As you can see, the city is pretty damn big. Unless we get extra eyes to look all over the city, it might be impossible to find it before sunset."

Hearing this, Kuroha seemed to get an idea. She looked down at Asama in her arm. She opened the portal in the gem of Asama's chest and submerged her hand inside it.

"What are you doing, Kurou-rin?" Touta asked. The thing with the bird portal was still pretty damn weird for him.

"I think I can get those extra eyes, Touta-kun. I would have preferred to not resort to this, though," Kuroha said as she took out her hand from Asama. Her hand was now holding several paper charms shaped like little birds.

"Hold Asama for a moment, please," Kuroha passed Asama to Touta's arms. Kuroha then threw the paper charms into the air and they exploded into small clouds of smoke. A bunch of small flying creatures appeared in front of Kuroha and Touta. They all looked like small black birds wearing small hats with a flame on top. There were about thirty of them.

Touta looked at the birds with an amazed expression. "These are- "

"These are all my lesser shikigami. Now, I am going to send them to look for my mask around the city."

"Wow, you can do that?! Why didn't you do that before?"

"I actually did not think about it before," Kuroha said while scratching her cheek. "Besides, it is pretty difficult to control so many shikigami at the same time. I am reaching my magic power limit with this." She looked at her birds shikigami and pointed at the city. "Go search for my mask. It must be somewhere in the city below. If possible, bring it back here."

The small birds obeyed their master and set out flying in different directions of the city.

Seeing her shikigami off, Kuroha sighed. "I hope this can work. There is no other option left. With the size of this city, I am not even sure if this number of shikigami will be enough to do a proper search."

"Don't worry. I'm sure your little birds will find your mask in no time," Touta told her while patting her shoulder.

"Your optimism never goes down, does it Touta-kun?" Kuroha said. "For now, we only can wait."

Kuroha sat down in the roof to rest, looking a bit tired. Touta sat down beside her and released Asama from his arm. Asama immediately flew to her owner's side.

Touta observed the phoenix-like bird for a moment. "By the way, why are you not sending Nagano too?"

"Nagano?" Kuroha's eyes narrowed. Touta pointed at the phoenix-like shikigami. "What is this obsession of yours with nicknames? I am sure Asama will not like-" Asama let out a high cry and flapped her wings. Kuroha turned to speak to her. "What? You love it? Are you serious, Asama?"

Touta's eyebrow twitched. Was this that special communication bond some people share with their pets? He never got it; it just made people seem lonely to him. "Anyway, Nagano is a shikigami like those others, right?"

Kuroha softly shook her head. "Asama is not that sort of shikigami. She is not even mine, technically. She has been in my clan for generations and the miko is supposed to take care of her," she explained while gently patting Asama on the back.

Asama flew to Kuroha's shoulder. She caressed her owner's face while Kuroha continued to stroke her.

Touta smirked. "You two sure seem to be pretty close, though."

"Even before I assumed care of her, Asama always seemed to be fond of me. There were no children of my age at my village and Asama was there to play with me instead. In fact, I think that is why I enjoyed learning about shikigami the most. Whenever I felt lonely, I could make them appear and have them do things to cheer me up," Kuroha recounted while reminiscing the times she used her shikigami as playmates.

"Kurou-rin… That means you never had friends, did you?" Touta said, looking at her with very sad puppy-dog eyes.

"Do not give me that pitying look!" Kuroha snapped. "It is not like friendships are viewed as essential for those in my tribe. I am fine with not having any friends."

"I see. You admit your score of friends was zero until today," Touta teased.

"It is none of your business," Kuroha clenched her teeth. She then blinked. "And wait. What do you mean by 'until today'?"

"Oh? Didn't you realize?" Touta raised his forefinger. "Friend Number One is sitting right next to you."

Kuroha blinked a couple more times. "Friend?"

"Oh, come on. It's natural to be friends when you find someone you get along with. Didn't you know that either?" Touta folded his arms. "Or am I the only one who is having a good time here?"

"What? No," Kuroha said a bit too quickly. She caught herself and shyly looked away. "I suppose I do not hate talking to you, at least," she mumbled.

Touta chuckled at Kuroha's reaction. "Look at that! You're surprisingly shy. How cute," Touta said while he teasingly pulled one of Kuroha's red cheeks.

"Oh, stop it!" Kuroha slapped away his hand. "I correct myself. I do not hate talking to you until you get irritating like that."

"Well, friends are supposed to drive you nuts sometimes," Touta laughed. "Me and my group of buddies from middle school used to trash talk and beat the crap out of each other all the time."

"In that case, friendships sound like too much trouble," Kuroha said.

"But that's what makes them fun," Touta grinned. "Haven't you thought that while we kept getting on each other's' nerves? If you did, we're pretty much best buddies already."

"Hmph! I-I do not know about that. I think our concepts of fun are probably different," Kuroha gazed down to her hands and played with her fingers. "B-By the way, Touta-kun," she cleared her throat. "We should have some time before my shikigami return. You haven't told me where you live. Well, since you seem to know this city so well, it's easy to assume you reside here, but..."

Touta smiled as he rested his face on his hand. "Aww. Could it be you're trying to make small talk, Kurou-rin?" Kuroha glared at him. Before she could say something, but Touta pointed towards the city below. He signaled towards the huge lake beside the city. "See that old-fashioned building on that small island?"

"Yes," Kuroha nodded.

"That's where I spend all the days working my ass off like a slave."

"So, that is your workplace? I cannot see it very clearly, but is it a mansion? It looks a lot like one."

"Sorta. It's more like an apartment for 'special' roomers. The place does include an inn and a restaurant, but we're not seeing much business with it," Touta said. "Yeah, if I had to describe the place easily, I would call it a haunted house," Touta joked with a laugh.

Kuroha tilted her head and frowned a bit. "I do not really get it, but from the sound of it, your workplace must be quite interesting."

"It is. The place is always pretty lively. Even a boring job like mine can be sort of interesting there."

"Do you not like your job?" Kuroha asked.

Touta scratched his cheek, turning his eyes to the side. "I'm not totally sure, but it works out fine for me. I'm not interested in looking for other options right now."

Kuroha hugged her knees. "But you still can choose if you want to do another job, Touta-kun. I never had that choice."

"Huh?"

Kuroha sighed. "In my tribe, your occupations are assigned since you are very young. You cannot argue with it. In my case, I was meant to be the miko before I was even born."

"Hold on, are you saying you didn't want to become a miko?"

"Back when I was a child, I honestly did not. Because I never felt adequate to the role," Kuroha intertwined her fingers. "You see, the miko is supposed to have a greater spiritual power than anyone in the village since her birth. However, my spiritual power has always been below average."

Touta widened his eyes at hearing the last sentence.

Kuroha sighed and continued. "Being the miko was always the only path for me. However, I never had the gift for it. How ironic, right? I resented the rules of my village a lot back then."

Touta tilted his head, disconcerted. "Does that have anything to do with you leaving your village?"

Kuroha seemed taken off guard by this question.

"Because you hated that lifestyle and just wanted to get away from it?"

"I do not hate it," Kuroha said clearly. "I eventually did come to love the life of the miko. You could say it became my dream, all thanks to my mentor," she looked up to the sky, her eyes appearing nostalgic once again. She soon lowered her head as she clenched her fists. "That is why I must by no means fail my task."

"Task?" Touta tilted his head.

Kuroha gasped. She apparently had forgotten she was speaking out loud. She was talking to herself like she was used to more than anything.

"Now that I think about it, you said there was something you had to do for the sake of your tribe. What is it, exactly? For you to end up arriving to the capital city alone, having no idea where you are, how things here work nor how to carry yourself around. It definitely seems to be too much of a pain."

Kuroha embraced her knees more strongly. The conversation took an awkward turn for her. "I-I told you it's of no concern for the normal people in the mainland."

"Don't give me that again," Touta got his face closer to Kuroha's. "What's with the 'can't tell you' protocol? Are you a secret agent? If we're going to be best buddies, you should open up a little."

Kuroha's eyebrow twitched. "I do not recall agreeing to this 'best buddies' deal or anything," she looked away. "Besides, I probably should not tell you. This is a private matter of my tribe. I told you we should never get outsiders involved with us. That's the law."

"That's a bit too late," Touta gave her the pointed finger. "You agreed to be involved with me from the moment you accepted to get on the Aeria Bike."

"What?! There was such a condition for the ride? I did not hear of it!"

"I have also given you a tourist tour around. That's right, even if you say we aren't best buddies yet," Touta nodded to himself. "We're already Tour Buddies!"

"Do not go making up weird associations like that!" Kuroha snapped.

"Anyway, doesn't the guide get the right to know what their tourist is up to?"

"I think there should be a privacy policy for that, really," Kuroha deadpanned.

"Come on, Kurou-rin," Touta nudged Kuroha with his elbow. "I bet telling me a little bit won't hurt. I will keep it a secret. Tour Buddies should be honest with each other."

Kuroha blushed a bit at the word 'buddies'. She looked back at Touta and sighed heavily. "I came to this city for what you could call a mission."

Touta raised an eyebrow, starting to feel curious. "And what is that mission about?"

Kuroha hesitated to respond. She actually didn't want to tell, but she knew Touta wouldn't stop nagging her about it if she kept quiet. "I guess there is nothing wrong with telling you a bit about it. You do not seem to be an enemy, after all," Touta frowned at the mention of 'enemy'. "I came to the mainland to look for something very precious to my tribe: A sacred treasure which was stolen from us."

"Stolen from you?" Touta blinked.

Kuroha nodded. "Yes. Some group of people from the mainland invaded our territory and took away a precious relic. It was a big hit for the pride and honor of our clan. We never suffered such humiliation."

Touta bit his lip. "Damn, sounds like it really sucks for your people."

Kuroha deeply frowned. "It was bad for everyone in my tribe. However, I especially had my whole reason of being taken away."

"Wait, what does that mean?"

"One of the main duties of the miko is to guard the temple where we kept the treasure. With it stolen, there was almost nothing I could do in the village. I was told I should protect something if I wanted to be useful for my people. For that reason, I set on a journey to the mainland. I am not allowed to return until I retrieve the treasure."

When Kuroha concluded her story, Kuroha found Touta staring at her with shining starry eyes. Her serious expression turned to dumbfounded.

"I admire you!" Touta exclaimed, taking Kuroha's hands into his own. This made her blush again.

"Touta-kun, you are seriously making me uncomfortable…" Kuroha said, clearly freaking out.

"I knew you were cool, but now I know you're awesome! For you to venture all alone to a world you didn't know for the sake of your tribe... You're like the hero of an action manga!"

"Manga? I see you like to make incompressible comparisons," Kuroha's confused face turned into a frown. "You're seriously embellishing my story, Touta-kun. I am not someone as noble and selfless to be called a hero."

"You are!" Touta got her hands closer to him. "I knew from the moment I saw you fighting; Kurou-rin is one of the coolest heroes I have seen!"

Kuroha hmphed with indifference. She slowly shook her head. "Spreading out things you know nothing about and making them sound so glorified. You are still a kid, Touta-kun."

"Kid?! That's how you see me?!" Touta yelled in annoyance.

"You are naïve," Kuroha took her hands back. She slowly stood up and stared at the scenery of the magnificent city. "I am not a hero nor a great warrior. I am simply someone who already lost everything," she looked at her own opened left hand. "Fulfilling my task is all I can do now. If I do not accomplish it, I will never live up to the name of the miko," she deeply frowned as she made her hand into a fist. "I am solely driven by my selfish wish."

"Isn't that fine?" Touta said with a nonchalant smile.

Kuroha looked at the seated boy with an incredulous expression. "What," she said.

Touta shrugged. "What's wrong if your goal is selfish? I still I think what you do is cool! You're clearly working hard to get that treasure back. I'm sure your tribe will respect you for that. And no matter what you say, someone who goes out of their way to fight a rampaging robot and save innocent civilians from it must have some 'hero' in them."

The boy looked up at the miko with a confident smile, as if he was sure he wasn't mistaken about her. The miko took a minute of silence before sighing. Her eyes softened.

"Touta-kun," Kuroha kneeled down in front to the seated boy. "Your optimism really gets on my nerves."

"Hey, what was that?!" Touta screamed.

"I am just saying trusting people so easily will get you in trouble eventually. You are the type who should be careful of money scams. But," she stared him eye-to-eye. "That is probably why you have such honest eyes. I do not hate that about you, Touta-kun."

"Guess that's your way to compliment me again?" Touta scratched his slightly blushed cheek. "Wait, could this mean I'm getting a dere-dere moment so early? You're a less hard heroine than expected, Kurou-rin!"

"I do hate that tendency to prattling of yours, though," Kuroha sneered.

Touta just laughed it off. He liked Kuroha's sharp tongue, too. "But Kurou-rin," he talked normally again. "While on the subject, you still haven't told me what brought you to the capital. You said you had to do something here before sunset. Also, you tried to get close to the World Tree. How is that related to the story of that treasure?"

Kuroha suddenly got very serious. "That is- "

Before Kuroha could fully respond, she appeared to sense something. The two teenagers then saw a flock of black little birds that flew towards the top of the clock tower.

"My shikigami are back," Kuroha said while standing up.

Touta could only sit and watch Kuroha talking to her shikigami. He was disappointed that their moment was interrupted in such an abrupt way.

"Thank you so much for your help. You may now rest," Kuroha said while extending her arm. The shikigami turned back into paper and fell neatly into Kuroha's hand.

"From the looks of it, none of them brought the mask back," Touta said while standing up.

"No," Kuroha sighed. She then frowned. "But I noticed one of my shikigami still has not returned. That is not normal."

"Oh! Is that good or bad?" Touta tilted his head.

"Could be both. I am sensing he is calling me," Kuroha closed her eyes. "What happened, Moemoemaru?"

Touta frowned. "Moemoemaru? And you were making fun of my sense of naming before," his eyes widened. "And hold on. 'He'? Shikigami have genders, too?"

"I contacted him," Kuroha said. "Moemoemaru apparently found my mask," she added with a sound of relief.

"Really?" Touta said excitedly. Kuroha was taken by surprise when she felt Touta putting his arm around her. "See I told you it would all work out! And you were saying to give up," Touta laughed and threw his free arm in the air to celebrate.

Kuroha felt her face heat up and sweat ran down her face. "Don't touch me like that!"

The miko used her arms to push Touta away. She put a lot more than she intended, though. The boy was sent flying and span in the air. He then crashed against the giant clock of the tower. It was until the battered boy fell down on the roof that Kuroha seemed to realize what she had done.

"Touta-kun!" Kuroha panickily rushed to help Touta get up. "I am so sorry! It was like a reflex. I had no intention of hurting you, I swear. Where are you hurt? Tell me and I will take care of it."

"Relax, Kurou-rin. Jeez, you sure like to worry over little things," Touta said with an energetic smile as he stretched his arms. "This is nothing. I have taken way worse damage from others on regular basis."

"It surprises me you can say that like it is nothing," Kuroha sighed.

"Besides," Touta's cheeks reddened a bit. "Being smacked around by Kurou-rin somehow feels nice."

Kuroha raised an eyebrow. That commentary made her uneasy for some reason. "Anyway, you should not be so carefree about injuries. Humans are very delicate creatures, after all."

"Oh, in that case you don't have to worry," Touta winked and raised a thumbs-up at the frowning Kuroha. "Because I'm actually an immortal!"

Kuroha's eyes widened and she opened her mouth a bit. She didn't say anything for the following minute. Touta assumed she was assimilating the shocking revelation. Maybe he shouldn't have been so straightforward about it?

Touta finally heard a sound coming from Kuroha. It sounded like a snort. The miko put her hand over her mouth, seeming more surprised than Touta. Her cheeks blushed slightly.

"You sure are a funny one, Touta-kun," Kuroha commented. "I can even say you have potential as a comedian if you ever quit being a janitor."

Touta grimaced. He felt quite annoyed that Kuroha was treating this as a joke. Still, she said he was funny again. That could be a point in his favor.

"Let's forget about that now," Touta proceeded. "You said your bird found your mask. Then, it'll be here soon, right? Now it's time to celebrate that!" he smiled cheerfully and patted Kuroha on the back. A bit to strongly to her liking, in fact.

"It is too soon to celebrate anything, Touta-kun," Kuroha returned to her serious voice, almost sounding angry. "Moemoemaru appears to have ran into some trouble."

"What?! What happened to the birdie?"

"Because certain someone here interrupted me in the middle of the connection, I do not know," Kuroha folded her arms. Touta laughed nervously. "Moemoemaru is not answering anymore. There is no other option; I'll have to look for him."

"And where is it you sense your shikigami is?"

Kuroha closed her eyes and focused. "There," she said while pointing to the city below the clock tower. She signaled one of the sections of the city, which Touta immediately recognized.

"The shopping district? Got it. Let's go!" Touta said while rushing to the Aeria Bike to get on it.

Kuroha didn't follow and lowered her head a bit. "You know, Touta-kun. I can keep track of my shikigami on my own. You do not have to keep helping-"

"Do you know how to go about the shopping district without your guide?" Touta simply asked.

"I-I do not," Kuroha responded, annoyed.

"Thought so. Besides, how do you plan to get down from here?" Touta reminded her they were standing on top of a high clock tower. "You won't tell me you can just sprout out wings and fly away, can you?" Touta said jokingly, getting a strange look from Kuroha in return.

Kuroha bit her lip. "But you must have something else to do-"

"I only have to do some errands in the shopping district. Taking you there works perfectly for me."

Kuroha didn't expect that. "I-I see, but-"

"No buts! I won't leave your side until you have your mask back into your hands! That's my vow as your guide and Tour Buddy!" Touta stated with big smile and a wink.

Kuroha rolled her eyes. She could tell that no matter what she said, Touta was too stubborn to leave her now. She finally gave in and stepped forward. Asama flew to settle herself on the back of the Aeria Bike while her owner sat behind the driver. The Aeria Bike took off.

"Fine. I suppose you could accompany me so I know how to move around the zone. I cannot afford to get lost and waste more time."

"Yeah, yeah. We both know you're actually happy to hang out with your first friend a little longer," Touta teased. The boy felt an arm around his neck, trying to strangle him. "I get it! I said too much! Get off me! We'll become mosaic censorships if we fall from here!"

Now calmed down, Kuroha put her arms around Touta's waist. "Once I have my mask back, I promise to properly thank you, Touta-kun. I will make up for all this trouble."

Touta gave Kuroha a noogie. "Are you deaf or something? I told you to stop that. If you say you're trouble again, I'll get angry," Touta looked ahead, with a huge grin. "Tour Buddies should have fun like we have until now."

Kuroha blinked a few times. She kept silent for a moment, not knowing what to say. However, she did feel more relaxed now.

"In that case, I will try to not say things like that again," the miko closed her eyes. "Also, since we are on friendly terms now," a knuckle fell down on Touta's head. "This is what you will get if you hit me in the head again."

"You went tsun-tsun, again," Touta touched the bump in his head. Strangely, Kuroha had the impression he was breathing a bit heavily. "Didn't you know 'don't hit the driver' is one of the first rules in vehicular safety?"

"I do now. I still went easy, you know," Kuroha said in her defense.

Slowly, Touta started laughing out loud. Without him realizing, the passenger behind him made a small smile in silence. As they flew through the sky, they headed at full speed to the shopping district.