Three days and three nights had passed.
At the fourth dawn, the heroes who had protected Shimane returned. Issei sighed in relief as he could now be freed from logistic management for a while, but he didn't expect Yuuna running to him the moment he stepped outside of Fushimi-Inari Taisha.
The redhead gave no indications to hide her innermost feelings. Crying out their names, Yuuna leaped and glomped Issei, Sonoko, as well as Karin altogether. The three who had just returned from the frontline flinched in surprise, but considering the club had never done a rotation when fighting Vertexes, it was expected of those on the sideline to be worried sick.
At the very least, Issei thought as Sonoko and Karin comforted the teary-eyed Yuuna. Everyone returned safely.
He had definitely made clear progress on upholding his promise. Because of that, Issei felt that the situation wasn't as hopeless as he thought. He also didn't mind staying in close contact with Yuuna, though he tried his very best to not show it on his face. It'd be dangerous if either Tougou or Karin noticed.
Speaking of the two, Karin had been informed about the diminishing energy of the Shinju. She had voiced her concern outright, but there was still enough time to develop a countermeasure. Although it took a while for Karin to calm down, she soon accepted and decided to help as best as she could.
Still... when he looked at his other classmates and senior, he felt something from the way they gazed at… could it be?
[They probably already know,] his partner preemptively answered. [Either from that fox, that emotionally drained priestess, or maybe your parent.]
...Well… that sure saved me most of the efforts there.
He didn't doubt Aki because of her strong sense of duty. On the other hand, Yasaka was a Youkai, and a Tenko on top of that. It might just be her fulfilling her role as a divine messenger, but aside from that, Issei had a feeling his father had helped in telling the truth. It depressed him a little, but what else could he do?
In the end, they'll know sooner or later.
Smiling sheepishly at his other two friends, Tougou reacted first. The black-haired beauty twisted her lips into a bitter thin line while Fuu breathed out, shaking her head in exasperation. Issei seriously felt apologetic but ruining the moment wouldn't do.
What the heck am I supposed to do in this sort of situation?
[Nothing can be done,] Ddraig retorted as if foretelling the weather. [This is the result of your action. If you have some pride, take it like the dragon that you are.]
Issei exhaled in resignation. There was no helping it, huh?
The day passed as quick as the falling snows.
The palace was full of noise. Laughter and cries filled the air, but the mood was light-hearted enough to shrug off the cold of winter. Questions were thrown about, and answers were met with the usual strange responses. The atmosphere was just like the regular club days. Even with one of them not being there, Issei felt that regardless of what would happen, regardless of where he would be, the same sight would persist on existing no matter what.
He took solace and burned this moment into his memories.
As night fell upon Kyoto, those who had exhausted themselves retired back to their rooms. Issei too returned to his own room to tidy stuff up, but he was met with a mountain of items piling on his desk.
"...Uh, the heck is this?"
"Oh, those are letters of gratitude from the people across the country," said Tougou who had somehow sneaked past his detection. The girl stood at the doorway with her hand on the sliding door and smiled. "In a way, they are love letters from your fans, Ise-kun. Please be sure to respond to them properly."
"Eh, wait—"
"Now, excuse me. Tomorrow is a school day so I will retire for the night."
No fair! Issei almost yelled at the top of his lungs had Tougou not executed a tactical retreat. It was just so well-timed the male youth couldn't do anything about it, and in the end, there was no choice other than facing the enemies on his own.
"What is this, a new form of torture…?"
[If a mountain of honest praises could finish you off, those idiots above wouldn't have so much troubles dealing with us.]
Well, if you put it like that…
Issei sat down and glanced at some of the letters, reading what he could glean with the little information they had. The addresses varied, the names ranged from normal to odd ones, and some of them also had clear titles in regards to the contents of the letters. Issei curved a thin smile, but he hung his head and ran his right hand over his hair.
"Even though I never thought of fighting for glory… this is a problem."
[I agree,] Ddraig commented. [It's always a strange thing, having others admire your strength from afar. I was even recorded in human history as a dragon siding with a country; like I could care about a conflict between the weak.]
Aaah, right, you're the Welsh Dragon.
The dragon sealed in his Sacred Gear sent out an image of his head nodding. [Indeed I am, but that's only a title tacked onto me. It later became a joke I often use on my hosts whenever one succeeded on awakening me.]
What an ill-natured dragon. Issei shook his head at the dragon's reasoning and loosened the tensions in his shoulders.
He began sorting out the letters–only to stop when he recognized a single letter buried in the heaps. His eyes rounded up for a moment before they narrowed, zeroing in as a thought crossed his mind.
It didn't take long for sounds of tearing and unfolding papers to fill the room. Snows continued on falling outside the room, and yet despite the efforts of the room heater, a strange, cold atmosphere still persisted on sneaking in.
"...I see," Issei breathed out. "So that's how it is."
Ddraig didn't deign an answer. He might have already known what Issei had found out, and what he was thinking at the moment. That was why…
[The stakes sure are rising even higher.]
The dragon's words sounded like a trivial comment, but there was no denying the lack of emotion in them. Issei was glad to know that, so he continued to stare at the letter in his hand. He carefully reread it, dissecting the content word-by-word, and he soon came to a definite conclusion.
"Not even five years, huh...?" Issei turned his head to look at the shoji facing the moonlit garden. "Can I truly make it in time?"
His question received no answer. Not from his partner, not from the Collective of Gods linked with his existence, not even from his own self who had chosen what he must do.
Issei folded back the letter, moving on to his other task.
The weather had cleared up at last. The sun was shining bright, only a few white clouds could be seen, and the hustle and bustle washed across the town of Kyoto.
It was a warm welcome for Issei. He woke up in time, changed into his school uniform and looked at his reflection in the mirror. A dark blazer with a red necktie that indicated his year, white shirt beneath the brown vest, and warm grey pants for a contrasting value. Hm, as I thought, I look cool in this!
He didn't take a pose because he could never be careless in this palace. He wouldn't say he couldn't trust the girls, but the likes of Sonoko would just waltz out of the closet as if it was the norm. The scary thing was that Sonoko would have something in hand to note down anything she thought of as interesting for the sake of her novels.
"Yeah… you can never let your guard down when living under the same roof afo girls of your age." Issei straightened his back and nodded to himself. "Alright, time to go!"
Bringing his school bag with him, the boy left his room. He met up with the girls at the guest-receiving room and was greeted with a scenery worth more than a billion yen.
"Oh," Karin turned around, her twintail dancing, fluttering as she turned her head to meet his gaze. The coat covering her black sailor uniform swayed and the brunette snorted, "About time. How long are you going to make us wait?"
Just like her, his friends turned around and greeted him in their own ways. Fuu shook her head in exasperation, Yuuna beamed a smile, and Tougou lightly sighed. Sonoko, meanwhile, seemed like she was about to fall over while holding a rectangular pillow that resembled a cat wrapped in a towel.
But never mind all that. What Issei considered as important was the sight of his beloved friends in school uniforms. The weather was still a bit cold, but it didn't stop him from appreciating the girls' beauty.
"Oy, stop staring." Karin walked up and knocked the side of his head. Issei yelped. "The bus is going to be here soon. It would be your fault if we are all late for the third semester."
"Agh, fine fine…"
With that being said, the Hero Club departed from the Ninomaru palace. Exiting through the eastern gate, they immediately went straight to the bus stop. Yuuna asked if any of them slept well but Karin pointed out her snoring, making the redhead to hide her face from everyone else's stares.
Issei chuckled. On that aspect, Yuuna was still the same as before. Despite that, the girl quickly recovered, her smile wide and dazzling to the point that Issei was sure the snow had melted for a moment.
"Hm?" Yuuna perked up, noticing his stare.
Issei hurriedly looked away. Damn, how could he be so easily flustered? He was falling hard. Hell, he was totally head-over-heel for her, wasn't he?
This ain't good…
Looking for something to distract him, the boy checked his other friends. Karin was arguing with Fuu like always, Yuuna had started a discussion about lunch with Tougou, and Sonoko…
"...Huh?" Issei blinked, realizing that the blonde gazed ahead as if lost in thoughts. No, was she daydreaming? "Err, Sonoko-chan?"
There was no answer.
Issei felt like he could never get used to the girl's moments like this. Sonoko was his crush, one could even say that one of the biggest factors driving him to live the way he was now was because of her. He was glad for that, but sometimes, there were sides of Nogi Sonoko he couldn't understand. Whenever the girl dazed off, he couldn't help but think that her soul wasn't in the right place—
[Well, I suppose that's one way of putting it, huh?]
The boy blinked in surprise. What did he just hear?
"...Han-kun?"
Uuuuuhhh…!?
"Y-yeah?" Caught off-guards, Issei responded out of reflex. It was then he realized who addressed him like that. "Ah… what is it, Sonoko-chan?"
The girl with dirty blonde-hair stared him in the eyes for a few beats. Then, she spilled a smile as she tilted her head.
"Did you sleep well last night?" Sonoko asked.
"Huh…? Well, I guess." Issei scratched his cheek and turned his eyes to the road. His ears soon picked up a subtle noise, but it was a familiar sound he recognized even if it came from miles away. "Oh, look. The bus is here."
To his stray comment, a certain someone huffed in annoyance.
"...You do know that only you would notice the bus' arrival long before it can be seen, right?"
Agh, how am I supposed to respond to that!?
"Now now, let's not ruin the morning so early," Fuu advised. She had an entertained smile as if she was having fun and the alarmed Issei. "By the way, make sure to gather in the club room once your homeroom is finished. We need to begin club activity like we did for the new year."
Oh, yeah, there was that too. "I'll be a bit late, though. Is that okay, Fuu-senpai?"
The blonde upperclassman tilted her head in confusion.
Morning had given ways to afternoon. As the day grew older, clouds rolled in, dimming the sky and taking away the grace of the sun from the town.
As if mirroring the weather, Issei slumped his shoulders. At the high-school division library of Kyoto branch's Shinju-kan, the young man reviewed a new section of history that had just been added a year back. Because of the unleashed truth, the country was thrown into a great uproar. It took more than a year for the government to recover, but even after countless bone-breaking efforts, the situation remained on a tightrope.
"…And this, too…" Issei shook his shoulders as he flipped another page. "What am I supposed to do with this?"
The section in the history book described an event. After the End of the Christianity Era, many educational institutes were revived by Taisha which was a rising association of minor shrines. Because it had lost its former purpose as an anti-Vertex organization, Taisha whose name meant 'Grand Shrine' changed into 'Amnesty', but now it was revealed that the new name symbolized the defeat of this country's Land Gods and humanity against the Malevolent Gods.
What was worse was that most of the Shinto's Heavenly Gods were at the victorious side in this passage, and that among the numerous casualties, a traumatic disorder had appeared which caused people to fear the sky regardless of it being day or night.
"…Even in Shikoku, there are hundreds of people having the same symptoms…"
[Sky Fear Syndrome… No, I guess it should be called 'Uranophobia', huh?] Ddraig sneered in clear disgust, no doubt infuriated by the brief description of the illness. [What a tasteless joke, even for those so-called gods. A mental illness that destroys the psyche of a living being, devouring their memories and pride like a bunch ants hoarding a dying insect, all the while forcing them to submit to the heavens and look down on their feet like a bunch of slaves.]
…You're not thinking this illness occurs because the people have weak hearts?
[I do think mortals are weak creatures, their bodies are so frail a gentle flap of my wings can snap their spines,] Ddraig remarked. [But a tactic that toys around with one's mind and heart is something unbefitting for dragons. It's disgraceful, shameless and utterly loathsome, for we treasure the strength of our own heart the most in our eternal lives.]
That… that certainly made sense. Issei was honestly impressed now. That would mean dragons recognized willpower as a kind of strength, and he would respect even lesser beings as long as they possessed an unrivaled passion.
"So then, do you respect the ancient Heroes as well?" Issei questioned with volume not enough for the librarian to train her glare at his back.
He waited for an answer… and soon the dragon gave him what he wanted to hear.
[…The Heroes who fought in that merciless battlefield were constantly showered with praises,] Ddraig reminisced. [I do respect their passions, but only a few knew that they were just little girls who had so much to live for. For those children, their place to die shouldn't have been on the battlefield with no chance to win.]
Ddraig's comment stunned Issei. It brought back some past memories to the surface. Having no other choice, Issei decided to continue on reading to keep himself distracted. He took notes so that he could compare it with the archives in Taisha's forbidden library, but at a certain point, Issei came across something familiar.
He squinted his eyes upon seeing a portrait of a girl in school uniform that seemed out-of-place in a history book.
The girl's long blonde hair was done up in a refined way. With sharp eyes the color of amethyst and a solemn expression denouncing any sense of humor. Together with a sheathed sword in her hand, she was an unwavering beauty like a summit flower. It was a beautiful girl like no other, and Issei certainly felt that if he ever met her in life, he would definitely stutter or self-destruct before he could recite out two syllables of words. She was way beyond her league, but something caught his attention.
The way she looked and her facial structure reminded him of a certain girl, so once he found the girl's name right below the portrait, his dark eyes widened.
Ddraig hummed, [It sure has been a long while since I last saw her and that sword of hers.]
"Nogi Wakaba…" Issei muttered out quietly. "You know, how does this even work? The resemblance is uncanny."
[On the contrary, I'm wondering if there's something wrong with that noisy one you've kept on pursuing.] In his headspace, the red dragon grunted, [I've seen her through the eyes of my previous host. Despite being a human supported by minor divinities, she deserved her title as a hero, but she was not… well, you know what I mean.]
"Ugh, you don't have to say it like that…" Issei hung his head low. "Sonoko-chan isn't that bad, you know?"
[Tell me that after she stopped acting like an eccentric. Your senior admired that ancestor as both a warrior and a person.]
Issei groaned. Wasn't there 300 years to make a difference? As if anything made by human could stand as pure and untouched by flaws through that amount of time! Just look at Taisha, it's fucking screwed up from top-to-bottom!
[And this is why nothing the likes of you have made can ever last for eternity…]
Shut up and stop nitpicking! Besides, that ain't the problem here!
Having enough headache for today, Issei decided to return the history book and left the library. Lunch was ending soon, and even though the first day of school would mean a few classes to attend, he couldn't just neglect his duty.
I've still got club activity to do!
He picked up his pace. The school corridor was full of noise with students wandering around. Naturally, many eyes turned to him but while those who knew little of him had the strongest reaction, those who had known him would greet him like always.
"Oy, Hyoudou! Don't run in the hallway!" A teacher shouted.
"Hyoudou, if you have the time to do another errand, help us in the next soccer match!" A male classmate waved.
"Quick, it's Hyoudou! Don't let him get near you!" A female student hushed her friends along.
Am I a plague or something? Issei was dismayed by the level of attention that didn't feel all that different than the times back at middle-school. He had to admit he was glad for that, but it felt somewhat wrong when everything stayed the same most of the time. Wouldn't it be bad if he didn't have any new challenges? What if he let his guards down because he was too used to staying in his comfort zone?
[You'll probably have a crushing defeat the moment you get distracted.]
Please don't jinx it, Issei begged in his mind. No, seriously, I wouldn't want that to happen; I have too much to lose right now.
The dragon sealed within the Boosted Gear produce a visual representation of rolling one's eyes.
For the umpteenth time today, Issei heaved a sigh. Going out of the main school building, he proceeded to go straight to the third building by cutting through the schoolyard. The trees, grasses, and bushes; all of them were covered with lumps of white snow. Furthermore, the ground had become slippery, so Issei slowed down to avoid as many frozen puddles as possible.
He reached the third school building after clearing that ordeal. Located at the far back of the campus, the two-story exclusive facility for extracurricular clubs stood in its outdated majestic way. Walls made of wooden planks and red bricks. The front part of the building consist of unused shoebox lockers. Wandering in casually, the young man walked through the corridor as his footsteps produced sounds of creaking wood.
The air was surprisingly dry. The wooden materials must have absorbed the moisture, and with the ventilations working fine, it was difficult to not let himself be spoiled by the atmosphere. After taking his time in absorbing the scenery surrounding him, Issei reached the end of the building's right wing. He turned to face a wooden door with a plaque hanging on it. He read aloud the words 'Shinju-kan's High-School Division Hero Club' carved on it in his mind. The young man formed a smile on his face and he twisted open the door knob before entering the clubroom.
"Hey! Sorry I'm late… huh?"
Issei blinked. At one corner of the eight-tatami mat room, he found himself staring at a group of girls surrounding a rectangular table. None of the girls paid him any attention since they were all looking down on the surface of the table as if trying to drill a hole through it. His raised hand slowly lowering down, a question crossed his mind but before he could speak out…
Karin perked up, her twintails swaying as she inclined her chin. "Ah, speak of the devil."
Fuu instantly twisted around 180-degrees to face him. Like a cracking whip her left arm flew and she pointed at him.
"Get him!"
"Huh?! Wha—"
Yuuna ran ahead of the others. Taking swift sprints, the girl matched her timing perfectly so as to execute a powerful leap forward. As her red hair fluttered behind her like the blazing tail of a comet, the girl murmured under her breaths before she spread her arms wide.
"HERO CAPTURE…!"
A powerful blow impacted Issei's gut.
Air left his lungs with a hard knock, and because he had forgotten to maintain his physical strength at the usual state, the damage multiplied horribly. His feet then left the floors and the last thought Issei remembered was one thing:
What did I just walk into?
