/.-: Sorry for the late update. I've been succumbing to the pressure of class. Short actiony chapter, but I'm writing the next one right now, so it'll be up soon, double update day. Also, all author's notes will be "/.-" from now on, because I don't want to write "author's note" every time. (YouTube: "Alice's Slash Dot Dash", no reason.)
The sky had turned orange and the sun was starting to kiss the horizon as we rode back towards Nitori-san's house. Relatively satisfied with how the day had gone, this morning doesn't seem half as bad anymore. I enjoy the scenery passing by, basking in the warm glow of the setting sun. I hear a humming coming near, and turn left to face it to see a swirling miasma of darkness approaching rather swiftly. Before I can react, it smacks into us, knocking over our ride and taking the three of us with it. I catch Nitori-san as gravity takes over and use my body to cushion her fall. Fortunately, she's rather light.
"What, what, what!" She cries out, in combined shock of the collision and the embrace. The ground races up to meet us, and the landing wouldn't be so bad, if the Niyonwa wasn't on top of my leg. My ankle twists painfully as the vehicle comes down on it, and I can feel it already swelling in protest. I grimace as I drag myself from under the pile of metal, with the kappa still on top of me. "You can let go any time." She says indignantly. I smile and relinquish my hold on her, and she pulls herself to her feet. She looks at me as I remain sitting, and offers me a hand. I shake my head and point to my foot. It only takes her a glance at it to see it inflating painfully. Frowning, she puts a hand on her hip and sighs.
"Did anyone catch the license plate of that OUCH!" My smart ass comment is cut off as a sharp pain jolts through my left arm. I look at it and the black cloud is clinging to my arm. I reach in with my other arm and smack it's inhabitant on the head. "LET GO! I'm not on the menu, damn it!" The occupant relinquishes her vice grip on my arm and floats away a short distance.
"Is that so?" She asks rather disappointed. I look down and see a bloody bite mark on my arm. "You smell so delicious... Please, just a small snack? An appetizer? You're ripe and juicy." Her voice taunts me lyrically as she drifts closer. Nitori-san steps between me and my predator.
"My friend is not for eating!" She says, angrily. She takes up a fighting stance, and forms blue danmaku bullets around her, preparing for a fight. The ball of darkness starts laughing at us.
"Is that so?! Is that so!" The laughter turns from joyous to menacing. The darkness thins a little bit so we can see the shaded girl within, a small child-sized blond with what looks like a ribbon tied in her hair, and wearing what looks like a black dress, though it's hard to tell through the shadow. Rumia, her name clear in my head. Her own multicolored ammunition takes form around her. I grimace at the thought of what's to come. I crawl over to the toppled Niyonwa as the fireworks start, fighting to right the vehicle. A few shots fly by my head, causing me to duck instinctively. Leaning heavily on the carcycle, I push it toward the tree line, using it to shield me from the deadly projectiles piercing the surrounding air. A few hit the bike and dent the side of it. As I finally guide it to the safety of the foliage, I sit down alongside it, using it as a protective shield, but peeking from around the front. Nitori-san's power is frightening, and her fighting spirit shows as she unleashes storms of bullets, fanned out in parallel. The blond girl uses her cloud of darkness to obscure herself, so that Nitori-san has a hard time hitting her, and returns fire with sporadic and thinly spaced bullets.
"Night Sign: Night Bird!" The sphere of darkness thins again, as overlapping waves of twin color bullets throw themselves at my Kappa friend. Nitori-san smiles and sidesteps between the bullets of each wave.
"Child's play!" She calls out, throwing a few scattered bolts back at Rumia. As Rumia's card ends, Nitori-san grins. "You seem to like hiding, but let me show you how it's done! Optics: Optical Camouflage!" My companion slowly vanishes from sight, criss-crossing cones of deadly waves forming around Rumia. The blond grins.
"You think I can't handle this little bit?" She says, taunting Nitori-san, her ribbon bouncing in her hair. As she turns to step into the safest area of the barrage, she turns into the last rays of the evening sun, blinding her. As she cries out in pain and shields her eyes with her arm, she's caught in the brunt of the spell card, and is thrown clear of the road, landing in the brush on the other side of the road. Nitori-san ends the card early and returns to view, walking over to where Rumia had fallen.
"And if you try to eat him again, I'll never forgive you." She says, before turning away from her beaten opponent and heading over to where I'm sitting. She pulls the Niyonwa back to the road, before returning to me to help me back on our transport.
"Is that so..." Rumia's voice floats from the bushes as she lay dazed. My friend pays no heed to the beaten girl, and gets back on the carcycle, leaving the battlefield behind us.
We arrive at her house, and she helps me inside, as I lean on her, limping. She has no issue holding my weight up, and I remember she's not human. I reprimand myself for forgetting, but it's hard not to, when she seems so similar to my past every day life, despite having oddly coloured hair. I thank her as she sits me down on my bed, and I work my boots off. She forms a cold sphere of water around my injured ankle and I wince before sighing in relief.
"Too bad we didn't have my torch, hm? Could have just shined it at her till she gave up." I laugh. Nitori-san looks at the bite mark on my arm and frowns. "Oh, don't worry so much. I'll be fine. It'll be gone before three days." She looks up at me without saying anything. I shrug and smile, reaching down and patting her on the head. She forces a smile and goes back to tending my ankle. Fortunately it seems to only be a small sprain, but eighty some kilo's of metal never feel good.
I lay back across the bed, enjoying the soothing feel on my ankle, and before I know it, I fall asleep.