I exhale, letting my heart relax after testing out yet another song. "Which one was that?"
"Definitely not." Yukari replies to the unasked question, shaking her head, "Not even if you practice it for the whole time slot."
"Thought so." I pause the machine to cross off the song name from my list. The songs are like are mostly sung by female singers... whose voices I can't- what's the term for it- live up to? Thinking in emotional terms again; can't translate to logic so easily. Sigh...
After picking out a selection of songs that I WOULD like to sing at the party at Eientei (not by my own choice), I requested Yukari's services in dropping me into the outside world at an earlier time, so I could practice singing them in a karaoke place. Of course, she went the extra mile by ensuring that the karaoke machine would HAVE the songs (blatant abuse of ability, but it's super convenient). I've already picked my favorite song for one of the three, but so far, the remaining two choices have eluded me.
Not that I can't sing any of the songs I picked; good songs are good songs, and my list of the songs I WANT to sing keeps increasing, while the number of free slots remain unchanged. And besides the number problem, there's the issue of getting the appropriate song to play to the crowd. I doubt most Gensokyoans (is that the right term?) would understand the meaning of terms referring to modern stuff, like cars, AI, etc.
I hum to myself as I count what's left. "Three more left to test..."
A waving at the corner of my eye alerts me to the employee on the other side of the door to the room. Time to go already, huh? I nod to the girl and start cleaning up the list I've made.
"You've been talking to Remilia recently, haven't you?"
I nod absently. "Yeah... tempting fate, you might say."
"Another prediction?" Yukari says knowingly as she follows me out of the room.
"Some weird one..." I frown. "That my brain just forgot all too conveniently." It sucks how my brain usually blanks out in face of questions. "Something about two dogs..."
"Hey, it's you!"
I turn around at the sound of the familiar voice. "Oh, Shaga-san."
"Just Shaga is fine." The blonde says dismissively. "You... hey wait, I never got your name."
"Ikuto." I look over my shoulder to see Yukari's absence. Vanished as usual.
Shaga peers into the room to see what I'm looking at. "Singing alone?"
"Was." I corrected. "My friend left already."
"Shaga, who's this guy?" A male adolescent voice asks.
"Oh, Satou!" Shaga grabs the new appearance in a headlock.
She introduces me to her cousin and fellow wolf, Yoh Satou, the one with the nickname of Pervert. We exchange looks, mine pitying, his one of resignation. He's dressed in a simple white-black school uniform, and hardly looks special. Compared to him, Shaga's other companion, Inoue Asebi, a small girl wearing a raccoon cap and scarf, looks far more interesting, despite not being the fighting type at all. Of course, I choose to observe from a distance; there's something about that girl that SCREAMS at my sense of danger.
"Going to hunt for half-price bento now?" I ask as I wait for them to pay. Good thing Yukari paid for mine already, without even me noticing.
"Of course!"
"Lead the way then." Yukari always dropped me into a karaoke lounge near a place I haven't gotten the honor seal from, so I doubt this is any different.
True to my expectations, following the group leads me to a nearby supermarket that I haven't been to and probably won't ever enter again after earning the Honor Seal from the place here. On our way there, we talked about hobbies; they play Virtua Fighter... it's been a long time since I touched that series, and I really miss it.
And somewhere along the way, Asebi vanished. Shaga doesn't seem too bothered about that, so I guess it's fine...
Shaga suddenly stops walking the moment she reaches the shelves. "Geh."
"What's wrong, Shaga?" Yoh asks, then looks at where his cousin is looking. "Ohh! It's you two."
"Good evening, Beauty, Freak." A cultured female voice greets.
The speaker is one of two twins, both with silvery hair and wearing the same school uniform as Shaga. Unlike her twin whose hair is cut short except for two side locks, the girl who just spoke has a full, flowing head of hair.
"Orthros!" Shaga mutters.
Orthros? That doesn't sound like a normal name... guess that means it's her nickname?
"Yes." The girl acknowledges Shaga's address. "Oh, who is that behind you?"
"Nee-san, he appears to be a new wolf." Her twin speaks.
"My, won't you introduce him to us, Beauty?" She says archly, her eyes locked on me.
Sawagi Kyou and Sawagi Kyou... same pronunciation, different written character. The one with longer hair is the elder sister, and comes across as one who speaks without thinking through first; I've had my share of that as well, so I'm not too bothered by her. Her younger sister plays support, volunteering information or stepping in where her sister needs her to.
"You!"
As one, the group turns towards the sound of the shocked male voice. Oh, it's Jacket. I recognize the familiar shock of brown hair and attire.
"Hi." I greet him stoically.
"Hi? HI?" The guy reacts with shock. "Do you know just how long I've been looking for you?"
...GAYYYYY. "No," I reply without divulging my emotions, "I don't."
Jacket stares at me for a moment before turning away and covering his eyes with a weary palm. "Never mind."
"Well," Feeling as though a gear shifted inside me, I start speaking cheerfully, "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm off to see what's for eating tonight." I start walking towards the place where the bentos are displayed.
"Wait, I still have-" Jacket reaches out for me.
Unfortunately for him, my martial arts training earlier today focused on countering grappling techniques, and it left me with an unhealthy reaction to anything that might resemble an attempt at one. While Meiling's style has roots in Chinese kung fu, there are some moves that I attribute to aikido instead. Jacket crashes into the ground with a simple grab and twist before I realize what I did.
"Oops, sorry." I apologize, my hand still holding onto his wrist. "Try not to grab me, I'm a little jumpy. I don't want to break any rules before the God appears, you know."
The guy's eyes are looking a little unfocused. "Uhhh... okay..."
Everyone else is eyeing me with a variety of emotions; interest, speculation and shock. I ignore them in favor of checking out the bentos. Mmm... nothing really stands out. Hard to tell which one will get the Honor Seal. Damn, this might be tough. I count three wolves with nicknames, or four, if that other twin sister has one too, so this might be a tough fight. Out of the five bentos on display, only three of them are the ones that I would normally pick to eat.
I spend the rest of the time avoiding Jacket until the God of Discounts appears, which immediately sets every wolf in the store on alert. I run through my last-minute checks and ready myself for the conflict.
Closing... closing... SHUT.
"RRRRAAAAAAAHHHH!"
I sprint a short distance forward before turning around and smacking down the guy behind me. Fist, elbow, palm, knee, foot, I use all of my moves to take out the wolves in my vicinity as fast as I can, knowing that-
"You're an interesting one." A familiar female voice speaks from above.
Here she is. My eyes dart around to look for the other one. "Bring it on!"
"As you wish!" The joy is evident in her voice.
My uppercut smacks into a plastic basket, which absorbs the force. Oh~ this is interesting. Shaga uses chopsticks, but they use baskets? Nice...
Something flashes in the corner of my eye, and I instantly disengage and jump backwards. The movement spares me a rush from the right side from the other twin.
"Take this!" Still in the air, the first twin twists and lashes out with a kick at my face.
It collides with my other arm, a short distance from my chin.
A clattering sound from my left draws my attention, and I turn to deflect her kick with my leg.
"He's amazing, Kyou!" The elder squeals as she finally lands and distances herself from me, dispatching another wolf with her basket as she does.
"Yes, he is, Nee-san." The younger joins her sibling's side, taking down one of her own.
I settle into my ready stance, keeping most of my attention on the pair of twins.
"OOUUAAAAAAH!"
Reacting to the howl of hunger, I immediately lash out with a hook at the charging wolf. SATOU! I recognize the guy who was with Shaga nearly instantly.
He ducks underneath it, and launches a straight punch towards my midsection.
I slap it down, and bring my knee up, crashing it into his chin.
The impact is far less than I expected. He twisted out of the way!
My eyes widen as I remember the twins, but when I turn to look in their direction, my vision goes dark.
Training with Meiling taught me that such a situation usually means your opponent is dangerously close, and hammered-in instinct takes over. I drop to the floor and brace myself on the linoleum with my hands.
My right leg lashes upwards, and knocks the basket that had been obscuring my vision out of its carrier's hands.
"Ah!"
The muscles in my wrists and shoulders groan as they twist my body around for the next attack.
My feet meets the edges of a second basket, held by the younger twin.
"Hmph!" She shifts her grip, and unleashes her counter.
My surroundings whirl around me as she throws me into a spin, and I barely manage to break my fall properly, though I take a painful tumble across the floor, luckily avoiding the feet of the other wolves as I come to a stop beneath...
White. I raise an eyebrow as I look up...
"HEY!" A sneaker-clad foot comes down towards me.
I twist my body out of the way, and jump back up onto my feet. A reckless charge by some guys force me to step back, causing my back to press up against a smaller girl's one.
"You owe me a drink for that!" Shaga tells me teasingly.
"Meh."
A glance at where I started from reveals that Satou is still beating off the wolves around him, but the twins are leaving a trail of devastation behind them with their baskets working interchangeably as weapon and spring. Settling my breathing, I take a moment to note their movement patterns and how they use a combination of surprise and blitz attacks to beat down their opponents before the poor fools know what hit them.
"Hey, Two Dogs!" Shaga calls out, "Your guard dog is running loose! Be careful that they don't steal your dinner!"
"I told you, don't lump me together with that Pervert!" Jacket replies as he sprints past us, heading for the twins.
"Orthros!" Satou jumps into the fray on his end as well.
"Two Dogs?" I inquire, kicking down another guy.
"That irritating twin named them that." Shaga explains, still in her position behind me.
"A nickname that marks them as amateurs... that just doesn't make sense."
"More importantly," Something in her voice shifts, and I react by leaping away while twisting to face her. "Let's have our round two!"
Her blue eyes lock on me promising mischief, and from the way her body is lowering itself while adjusting the grip on the chopsticks in her hands, she's about to come in for an attack.
"HAAAAH!"
I sidestep her lunge and strike out, only to see it get parried by her chopsticks.
Shaga pivots and sweeps her leg out low, but I use a bit of fancy footwork to dart around to her back.
The blonde rolls forward and smashes another guy out of her way, before spinning to face me. She barely manages to catch my kick on her crossed arms. As it is, she still skids a short distance back.
"GYAAAAH!" A guy screams, and the two of us turn to look.
The elder Kyou lands lightly on her feet, looking down at a bruised Satou. "Fuu... I expected better, Pervert-san."
"GUHHH!" Behind her, Jacket crashes into a stand, making the goods displayed on it rattle.
"Nee-san." Her opponent dispatched as well, the younger Kyou joins her sister's side.
Ah well... looks like it's between me and them. "Shaga?"
"Hmm?"
"How strong are they?"
I can practically see the thoughts running through her head, before she smirks. "Probably more than me."
It's funny how the elder sister's expression changes when she hears that her superiority is in doubt, prompting the younger to try and console her sibling.
"You want to go or should I?" I ask casually.
She starts to speak, but the next moment, her decision is made for her by the rush of wolves coming from the side. That's what you get standing near the aisles, I guess.
Around us, people are tussling with each other, and it doesn't look like anyone has gotten their hands on a bento yet.
Part of me wants to grab the food and leave, another part wants me to test my skills against the pair of wolves known as Orthros, the two-headed guard dog.
Ah, to hell with it. I dash towards them, dodging around the brawlers in my way.
They move towards me as well, swaying their bodies around each other in an attempt to confuse my vision.
Within three seconds, I find myself impressed by their coordination and skills; they cover for each other, and can read my motions well enough to defend themselves, even with their baskets impeding their line of sight.
I keep them on the defensive by battering their makeshift shields with a series of punches and kicks, some hard enough to make them grunt from the exertion.
"Nee-san!"
"I know!"
The twins instantly switch tactics; one of them flings their basket at a corner and dashes towards it while the other moves around to attack me from the opposite side as a distraction.
Step, step, arms cross... STRIKE! Making use of a feinted elbow thrust, I instead unleash a hammer fist that swings upwards, deflecting the basket upwards. "HAH!"
My palm slams into her undefended midsection, and releases a heavy impact that throws her back.
"GUAH!"
"NEE-SAN!"
I react to the cry of alarm by dropping to the floor and lashing out upwards with a kick, an action almost reminiscent of the one I used when I first encountered the twins in combat, but this time my foot makes contact with a ribcage, and the other girl curls up instinctively.
Get the bento! I roll backwards and onto my feet, then turn to dash for the shelves.
"Not that easy, Ikuto!" Shaga slips in front of me and intercepts my outstretched hand with two pairs of chopsticks.
SHIT! I realize that I had been too desperate, and left myself open.
My hand gets shunted aside, and the next thing I know, there's a heavy ache on my right cheek from the hook she threw. I stagger slightly, but manage to block the follow-up kick.
"Behind you!" I gasp out.
"I'm not going to fall for tha-AUGH!"
"Told you..." I wheeze, as Shaga falls to her knees, clutching the spot where one of the Kyous kicked her.
I suddenly dodge to the side as a basket flies at me, and quickly defend against the jump kick that comes after it.
"What's your nickname?" The elder sister asks, standing still behind her sister.
"Don't have one." I watch their faces closely. CHANCE!
The moment their eyes widen in surprise, I quickly turn and dash over to the bentos, Before they can stop me, the one with the Honor Seal is in my hand. A quick glance identifies it as some tofu loaf one, which looks heavy enough to satisfy my purpose.
"Ah." They both say at the same time, looking at me with disbelief as I walk past them, waving nonchalantly.
Fighting is fun and all, but really... My stomach emits a growl that I can barely hear over the sounds of brawling. I have to say that food takes a higher priority.
"So how did you manage to deal with them so fast?" Shaga asks curiously, pausing in her eating to do so.
I glance at the wary pair, then at the two guys stuck eating instant noodles, before finally looking back at Shaga. "I saw how they moved, and figured out their pattern."
The twins' jaws drop open in shock. "That quickly?" The elder Kyou asks in surprise.
"I'm very used to reading patterns." Basic survival skill of Gensokyo. "Of course, another factor is that I went right for the first opening. Best offense, good defense, that sort of stuff."
The twins sigh, while the rest of them stare at me.
"Woah dude, I can't believe you don't have a nickname." Satou speaks up, and the rest nod in agreement.
Jacket suddenly interrupts. "I got one for him."
Huh? The guy instantly becomes the center of attention. "One what?"
"Nickname. I got one for you."
"What is it?" The elder Kyou asks.
"Illusion (Gensou)." The guy smirks at me. "You said you came from that... Gensokyo, didn't you? And you have one of the best sets of movements I've ever seen. So, Illusion."
I shrug and pop another piece of meat into my mouth. "Mm, fine with me."
"Why does he get such a cool name when mine is Pervert!" Satou demands petulantly.
Jacket's retort is immediate, "Because you are a pervert, Pervert."
"That's right, Pervert."
"Pervert." The younger Kyou echoes her sister.
The poor guy hangs his head with a long-suffering sigh, making me feel a bit of pity for him. It really sucks to get labeled with such a humiliating nickname. But instead of saying anything, I just finish the rest of my food and take the Honor Seal to hand over to Yukari later.
"Say, you're collecting those, aren't you?" Satou asks suddenly, just as I stand up.
"Yep."
"One from each store..." Shaga guesses.
"Yep." I repeat.
"Then you'll be meeting the Ice Witch soon." Kyou adds.
Sounds like a strong wolf. "The Ice Witch?"
"Yarizui Sen. The Ice Witch." Jacket explains, "She's the one that is the best example of a wolf."
"I see." I notice Yukari waiting in the distance. "I hope I'll run into her sometime. Have to go now. Good night, y'all."
As I walk towards the gap hag, I start thinking about my situation. Admitting the truth to the twins was a foolish move, since they would be prepared for me next time, and it appears that with each victory and Honor Seal, my opponents grow tougher.
Satou's nickname might sound insulting, but from that brief moment of combat I had with him, I can tell he's able to take quite a number of hits, making him a tanker-type. The twins are a combination of speed and stealth, and they know how to use it extremely well. Shaga is a counter-type, but she's able to use her chopsticks offensively on occasion, and her blows are powerful. Jacket... on the high end of the average scale, but it doesn't seem like he has a nickname, so maybe he just didn't stand out enough.
Then there's the Ice Witch... from Jacket's description, I bet she's one of those who are absolutely focused on getting her meal... A smile crosses my lips. When I meet her, I'll probably learn firsthand how it feels like to confront a hungry beast.
This chapter was long in coming, and it's shorter compared to my previous ones! But I've finally written it out. Go me. Give me feedback on my fight scenes though, it feels like I regressed slightly in my descriptions.
On another hand, I've lost most of the drive since the end of the Ben-to anime, but I'll do my best to continue with this. At most it'll be another two chapters before Ikuto is done getting all the Honor Seals.
Next chapter, expect to see the Ice Witch!