A/N: Yep, I totally procrastinated for this update. Almost three months of just waiting for you guys. My sincere apologies for that. I got very busy with my "Pokémon" stories (once again), I am brainstorming on other potential fics, and my second college semester has just started. So yeah, my schedule's not doing so well.
Anyway, before we begin, did you guys hear the news last year? The visual novel for "Angel Beats!" will be released on May 29 for this year, followed by a new special episode that will be released on June 24! Plus, the exact same people who made "Angel Beats!" will be making a new anime, slated to be released this year as well (I don't have the exact date of premiere yet). Man, guess who's psyched for all three releases? I am, that's who! And most likely you guys too!
Okay, enough chitchat! Time to get on with this overdue chapter! ENJOY!
P.S.: WARNING! There will be some violent scenes, and a reference to cutting and suicide ideation in this chapter! Readers, beware if you must!
P.P.S.: I was originally planning on posting this sometime last month, but then I came down with a sinus infection that totally threw my schedule off even further. So yeah, sorry for any further delay. :(
CHAPTER 8: UNDER ATTACK, PART 1 OF 2
Afterlife Name - Post-Afterlife Name
Yuzuru Otonashi - Arata Takahashi
Kanade Tachibana - Chouko Hashimoto
Yuri Nakamura - Kimiko Nishimura
Masami Iwasawa - Hasumi Itagaki
Hinata Hideki - Naotatsu Yunokawa
Ayato Naoi - Fuuta Ukiyo
Noda - Noriya Noguchi
Hisako - Masako Watanabe
Miyuki Irie - Hitomi Saito
Shiori Sekine - Saori Inoue
April 27, 2026
Nishitōkyō, Japan
"So, I take it everyone enjoyed our little detour?" Sadahiro asked as he, Takahashi, Kimiko, and Hasumi boarded the limousine. However, the three teenagers were all quiet, and his eyes widened when he remembered why. "Oh, my apologies! All of you came from Nishitōkyō, I nearly forgot that!"
"It's okay, Hashimoto-san..." replied Takahashi, almost inaudibly.
"Oh." The businessman smiled slightly. "It's good to hear your apology." He then turned to the chauffeur. "Start driving."
The man nodded back to his employer before starting the limousine's engine. Takahashi stared out of the window, and though the glass was blacked out with tint, he could distinctly hear the crowd of reporters trying to shout questions at Sadahiro, their photographers frantically snapping pictures with their cameras by the seconds as Japanese police officers held them back from the vehicle. He couldn't see a single thing through these tinted windows...
Now that he was looking at the window, the teenager began to wonder on how Chouko thought of these windows, never seeing through them and into the outside...
Takahashi blinked in shock. "Wait a minute," he thought, "why am I thinking about Chouko?..."
He suddenly felt himself lurching backward slightly, for the limousine had begun to drive away from the crime scene. With a relieved sigh, Takahashi then stared over at Sadahiro, who in turn was looking down at his lap as he was twiddling his fingers. For some reason, the compassionate and heartbroken expression that previously was etched on his face while speaking to the reporters was now gone from his face, replaced with a more serious and somewhat angered expression. While Takahashi felt that it was because he was trying to formulate a way to assist in the manhunt for the cultists...he couldn't help but feel a dark aura around that new expression...
Then, he looked away, just as Sadahiro suddenly looked up at him.
"Is everything alright, Takahashi?" he asked.
"Hm?" The boy looked back at the businessman and smiled at him innocently. "I'm fine. Everything's fine. Thanks for asking, Hashimoto-san."
"Have you managed to contact your mother?"
Takahashi's eyes widened in surprise. "How-How'd you know about-?"
"That?" completed Sadahiro. He closed his eyes and grinned slightly. "Call it a hunch, since we're in your hometown." He opened his eyes. "I know you feel extremely alarmed by the presence of the cult in Nishitōkyō. It must certainly be frightening to know the only family you have left is in close proximity to these madmen." Then, his grin faded. "Indeed, frightening. I understand if you feel those feelings." He looked at Kimiko and Hasumi. "All of you. But remember, we must stay strong. These malevolent cultists feed off from fear itself. If we are frightened by the very implication of their presence, then they've already won. Remember, strength is key."
"Strength is key..." Takahashi repeated. No one noticed Kimiko purse her lips.
"Yes, strength. Fear allows the enemy to triumph, for they embrace fear. Never be afraid, even within the inside. Even an ounce of fear can prove to be your ultimate disadvantage when in any situation. Detach yourself from that primal emotion. That way, you will legitimately be able to demonstrate no weakness, and therefore you will triumph against the enemy in the end." He closed his eyes again as a wider grin appeared. "It's a philosophy I live by, and it has served me very well."
Takahashi blinked as he took in Sadahiro's words of advice. He realized that the businessman was right. The cult was obviously discarding the corpses of their victims in such public places just so they could draw out the innermost feelings of fear from the masses. If people showed the cult no fear at all, then the cult would no doubt be deterred by such behavior they viewed as disgusting and foreign. He couldn't believe he was this frightened when it was all this obvious!
"Yeah," the boy replied. "Yeah... You're right..."
However, Kimiko and Hasumi merely stared at Sadahiro in disapproval.
Hashimoto Manor Family Room
Hashimoto Manor
"Yeah, I heard the news all right," Naotatsu replied on the phone as Kimiko listened. "It's very scary, knowing those cultists are in our hometown..."
"Tell me about it," Kimiko said, closing her eyes. "It's a good thing you and the others weren't the victims. A shame for all those families, though..."
"Yeah. You know, the people living on your street are getting all riled up. Everyone's scared..."
Kimiko's eyes narrowed. "Yeah... Speaking of which, can you imagine what that bastard Hashimoto told me about it?!"
"What? What'd the guy tell you, Kimiko?"
A grunt of disapproval escaped from Kimiko's mouth as she recalled Sadahiro's words. Then, she recited in a hateful tone, "Fear allows the enemy to triumph, for they embrace fear. Never be afraid, even within the inside." She paused. "Even an ounce of fear can prove to be your ultimate disadvantage when in any situation. Detach yourself from that primal emotion. That way, you will legitimately be able to demonstrate no weakness, and therefore you will triumph against the enemy in the end."
There was silence on the other end for a brief moment. Kimiko almost wondered if Naotatsu had somehow disappeared...or worse...
To her relief, he replied, "Wait, were those his exact words?"
"Yep."
"Should've known." Naotatsu paused for a minute again. "Speaking of Hashimoto, were you able to get anywhere with finding something poisonous about him?"
Kimiko remembered her scheduled meeting with Toro and sneered. "I've gotten myself a really interesting development over here... And it's really good too..."
"Really? You've actually gotten somewhere with this? Heh. I wouldn't have expected this-"
"Are you saying you never had any faith in me?!" interrupted Kimiko angrily.
"No, no, I wasn't judging you or anything! I was just voicing my surprise that you were able to find something so quickly. So, what'd you find?"
"I actually don't know yet. But Hashimoto's secretary, Toro-san, knows something and she's scheduled a secret meeting with me tomorrow. That'll be when she'll tell me of whatever dark secret the bastard's hiding." Her sneer widened. "And then, I'll use that information to ruin him good..."
"Wait, I thought this was about protesting against his company's treatment of the cult story?"
"Well, it is definitely more than that now!" Kimiko snapped angrily. "Whatever Toro-san wants to give me, it's probably something really bad. I mean, there's gotta be no other reason as to why she wants us to meet up in secret!" She put an index finger on her chin. "Probably because Hashimoto is involved in some big government conspiracy. Maybe one involving the entire Japanese government, or maybe even many other countries outside of Japan-"
"You're probably looking into this WAY too much, Kimmie," interrupted Naotatsu.
"Yeah, yeah, you're probably right..." Kimiko sighed. "I do know that I stumbled onto something big..." She looked around to see if anyone was eavesdropping on her phone call. "Anyway, I gotta go. I've got work to do. Tell my dad, Tamika, and Kaisei that I say hi, and make sure Naomi isn't playing those video games of hers."
"Alright, Kimmie. I'll be sure to do that."
"Oh, and how's the rest of the gang?"
"They're doing fine. Except for that new girl, Yui, I think her name was."
"Yumie," corrected Kimiko. "What about her?"
"Well, she's having trouble adjusting to the group. I mean, everyone's trying to be nice to her, but all she ever does as a response is nothing more than a squeak."
Kimiko rolled her eyes. "You've always been the charmer of the group, Naotatsu-kun. Ever thought about making her your friend? It's always helps."
"Heh heh, yeah, I forgot that. I'll be sure to do that when I have the chance. Oh, and Kimmie?"
"Yeah, Naotatsu-kun?"
"You..." He hesitated for a moment. "You be careful, alright Kimmie? Maybe you did stumble across a big government conspiracy."
The magenta-haired teenager chuckled. "Yeah, I'll be careful. Don't worry, Naotatsu-kun. I'll have this handled as fast as I can."
"Okay. If you say so."
"I will, okay?!" Kimiko then glanced at the clock. "Oh, I gotta go! Lunch is almost ready and I've gotta be there!"
"Alright. Bye, Kimmie."
"Bye." With that, the teenage girl hung up the phone before rushing into the kitchen.
"The nerve of that guy!" snapped Hasumi as she violently threw her shoes down on the floor. "Detach yourself from fear? What does he think we are, robots?!"
"Whoa, whoa, Hasumi!" Takahashi cried, raising his hands as he followed Hasumi into a living room. "Chill!"
"DON'T TELL ME TO CHILL, ARATA!" Hasumi's eyes widened when she realized she had frightened Takahashi. She looked down at the floor sorrowfully. "Oh, I'm sorry, Arata. I didn't mean to lash out at you like that. It's just... It's just that I can't believe any of the things Hashimoto is telling us..."
Takahashi took a step closer to his friend. "He's got a point, you know, Hasumi."
The pink-haired girl's eyes widened, and she twirled around. A look of confusion and...disappointment...was on her face.
"What?" she asked.
"It's just like what he said. Fear is what makes these cult guys strong. If everyone continues to be afraid, then those guys have already won the fight. They shall take advantage of that, and we'll all pay the price because of it. However, if we set aside all our feelings of fear and insecurity, and show these guys that we're not afraid of them, then they will be deterred! For all we know, they may stop killing altogether!" Takahashi put a finger to his chin as he began to ponder. "Man, Hashimoto-sensei probably should've made a speech like that back at the crime scene in Nishitōkyō. I probably should tell him that-"
"You actually believe that jerk's words?" interrupted Hasumi, her face entirely red.
"Well, what would you do if one of those cultists got to you and you had no other way out? Would you die crying, or would you rather die fighting?"
"Of course I'd die fighting." She crossed her arms. "But why do you think the idea of fighting came to my mind in the first place?"
"Because you want to survive."
"And why do you think I want to survive?"
Takahashi shrugged. "Because...life is precious? Come on, Hasumi, if you fight back against one of those crazy cultists, that must mean you have guts!"
"Of course I've got guts! But I only have the guts to fight back because I don't wanna die. Especially at the hands of a madman like him."
"Like I said. You want to survive."
"Because I'm afraid to die, Arata!"
Takahashi's eyes widened in surprise. In all of his life, he had never heard Hasumi sound so serious before, even if it concerned her music or her band. He didn't know why she was acting that way. However, as he looked into her red eyes, both of which were now shimmering strongly with emotion, he could tell he had touched a real personal nerve somewhere inside that tough exterior he knew. Now, he couldn't help but regret ever commenting on her criticism against Sadahiro.
"Hasumi-" he began.
"Oh, don't you Hasumi me, Arata!" snapped the pink-haired girl, cutting him off. After pausing for a moment, she continued, calmly this time, "You know, Arata, when I was thirteen, my life changed. For the worse." Her voice started to tremble as a dark, unknown memory returned to her mind. "My mom died of cancer."
"Your mom?" Takahashi asked. "I met your mom before-"
"That wasn't my biological mom. My dad remarried a couple of years back. She's not my real mom. The one I lost when I was thirteen...that was my mom..." Hasumi stepped closer to Takahashi, startling him as she looked deeply into his eyes. "When my mom died, so did all the hope I had in my life. My mom could've been saved, but her doctors never noticed the symptoms until it was too late. And now, I was left with a dad who'd either away be at work or trying to find what I believed to be a poor replacement of a mom. I did not have any friends at school, and there was no one else I could turn to. I..." Her eyes softened. "I used to cut myself often..."
"Hasumi!" exclaimed the redheaded boy. He couldn't believe he was hearing this from Hasumi, the tough yet kindhearted and upbeat girl he was infatuated with.
The girl raised both of her arms so Takahashi could see them. For the first time in his life, he noticed the unusually long and thick cuffs wrapped around her wrists. He always thought they were for show, since she and her band-mates had always been trying out clothing designs for their band. But now, from what he just heard...
"These cuffs hide all the scars I inflicted on myself." Hasumi lowered her arms, her cheeks red. "All the times I watched the blood trickle from me, in small doses, and wonder what would happen if the cuts were a bit more deeper. I thought that if I died already, I'd be at peace. I'd probably see my mom again. Sure, I would've been leaving my dad, who I still loved, but I never understood his happiness at the time. Back then, I only found happiness in death. I felt that would have been happy, so happy." Suddenly, a small grin appeared on her face. "Then, during the summer before I entered high school, I found another source of happiness."
"Music," Takahashi replied.
Hasumi nodded in response. "Yeah. I met Masako during my first day in high school. She was playing her guitar alone on the rooftop while I listened down below. She was wonderful. No one else listened to the music but me. I kept listening to her performing solo for a couple of weeks, all the while awestruck.
"Then, one day, she finally noticed me and invited me up to the rooftop." She smiled as she fondly recalled the happy memory. "She learned about my mom and told me how her older sister committed suicide when she was a child. And then, she told me how music became the source of her happiness. I found myself agreeing with her, and from that moment on, we formed a pact that we knew could not be broken. We would form a band so we could provide our fanbase with an escape from the problems of their lives, just like it did with us. Then, we met Hitomi and Saori, and now, we got ourselves our band. A shame we can't think up of a name still.
"Anyway, every time I think about how I did these things to myself, I become terrified of what would've happened. Had I actually gone through with what I desired at the time, I would've been deprived of my second chance in life. I wouldn't have met you or Masako or Hitomi or Saori. I wouldn't have pursued my dream of getting a career in music. Most of all, I wouldn't have found true happiness in life." Her red eyes hardened. "And it is that fear of dying that helps me become brave, Arata.
"So, when you say it's because life is precious, Arata, you're right. Life is precious. When it's being taken away, especially by someone who takes pleasure in pain, you become scared. And once you become scared, that is when you make that realization. Then, you have every reason to fight for your life with everything you've got.
"That's courage, Arata. As painful as it sounds, as much as it makes you look weak in the eyes of others, you can't have courage without fear."
Takahashi was shocked to hear all of this coming out of Hasumi's mouth. When he first met her, he'd always thought she was the type of person who was strong and no-nonsense all the way. No concern over any deep, personal, emotional stuff whatsoever. ...Now...all he could see standing in front of him was a sad, lonely middle-school girl, who didn't have anyone to rely on for help and comfort in the darkest time of her life... It was a very sad sight...
"Hasumi," he said, "I'm really sorry about all of this. I...I really am..."
"So..." replied Hasumi, her voice serious again, "are you convinced now on why I think Hashimoto's words are complete bull, Arata?"
"To be honest...I don't know who to believe anymore... You and Hashimoto seem to have good points..."
The pink-haired girl sighed heavily. "When the time comes, Arata, you will find out what I mean."
Then, she leaned her face closer towards his, and Takahashi felt his lips twitch instinctively. He actually thought she was going to kiss him.
Instead, Hasumi moved her lips close to his ear and whispered into it, "Thank you...for listening."
"Oh. Y-You're welcome." Takahashi smiled, no longer concerned if Hasumi kissed him right there or not. He was just glad she deemed him trustworthy enough to pour her personal details out to him. "So...uh...I assume you don't want me to tell anyone else about what you just told me?"
The girl smiled slightly as she pulled away. "Just don't tell Noriya. He's never been into sappy dramas of any kind. Surely he won't be able to handle a back-story like mine. He'd probably believe I'm emotionally and mentally unstable or something like that and break up with me on the spot."
Takahashi frowned upon hearing that name. "Noriya..." he thought bitterly. Then, he said, "Hasumi, you should break up with him, then."
Hasumi raised an eyebrow. "And why should I? I love him."
"A romantic relationship is about both partners understanding and accepting each other, flaws and all. What happened to you in the past made you what you are right now." He crossed his arms. "If Noriya can't accept that fact about you, then he certainly doesn't care about you. All of you, that is."
The pink-haired teenager turned her back on Takahashi. "Just because I told you about one event in my personal life does not give you the right to poke around in my love life, Arata." She began walking away. "If Noriya finds out about this fact, whether or not it was from you, I can handle it myself."
Takahashi could only watch in disappointment as Hasumi continued to walk further away from him. Once she was gone, he hit his thigh in anger.
"Damn it!" he thought. "And I was so close too..."
Reserved Bedroom of Arata Takahashi
Over an hour later
It didn't take much longer for night to fall upon Hashimoto Manor. After finishing up his dinner and putting his plate away, Takahashi immediately traveled up the long staircase to his bedroom, pondering over the recent events he witnessed during the past day, and especially about what it took to be courageous. Did one have to feel fear first before feeling brave? Or must one have to set aside all feelings of fear and be brave on the outside and the inside? Didn't they sound pretty much the same?
He was confused...
Upon reaching the last of the stairs, Takahashi froze in his tracks. Standing right in front of him, apparently in wait for him, was...
"C-Ch-Chouko?!" the redhead stuttered.
"Thank you," the silver-haired girl replied.
Takahashi raised an eyebrow. "Thank you? Thank you for what?"
"For not reneging on your word..."
"My word?" Then, Takahashi remembered the conversation they had last night. "Oh, I remember. You're...You're welcome, I guess?..."
Chouko looked down at the floor softly. "When I first saw you, Arata Takahashi, I thought you wouldn't be an honest and trustworthy person, not even in the slightest. I had my doubts about sharing my secret with you. I didn't even think you would keep your orifice shut for over twenty-four hours." Takahashi grunted and narrowed his eyes at her for that remark, but she did not notice. "In fact, this morning, during breakfast, I thought you divulged my secret to my father. But-" She looked up at Takahashi, her golden eyes glimmering with an unknown emotion. "-it turns out I was mistaken. And you still haven't told my father, or anyone else."
"Well, to be honest..." Takahashi replied, but he paused. He was about to say that he forgot about their conversation last night, but he didn't want to provoke Chouko, especially before he was about to go to sleep. So, he smiled innocently. "It's no problem, Chouko. I'm glad I could be your confidant."
Chouko nodded and bowed at Takahashi. "Thank you, Arata Takahashi. I trust you will continue to keep your word."
"No problem," he replied hastily. "I'll continue to keep your secret held up within my brain to the grave! Just leave it to me!"
The girl nodded again before saying, "Now, would you mind stepping aside? I must go downstairs."
"Getting bossy, aren't we?..." Takahashi whispered to himself bitterly as he allowed Chouko to gown do the stairs. He was then about to go to his bedroom when...
"That's courage, Arata. As painful as it sounds, as much as it makes you look weak in the eyes of others, you can't have courage without fear."
The redhead turned around. "Yo, Chouko?"
Chouko stopped and looked up at him. "What is it? My timing is precious, so please be quick."
"What do you think courage is?" He didn't know why he was asking Chouko, of all people, her own opinion, but he decided to go along with it.
The girl was silent for a moment, then replied, "It depends on how much fear you have."
"Well, isn't that specific?" Takahashi thought sarcastically. Then, he asked her, "What do you mean by that?"
"You will see..."
Takahashi growled angrily as Chouko continued traveling down the stairs. He knew he shouldn't have relied on her to answer such a question!
With a sigh of defeat, he twirled around when...
A flurry of silver feathers...
The redhead twirled around to look at Chouko. However, she had already finished going down the staircase and was out of sight. Upon realizing this, he scratched his head in confusion. He could've sworn a strange image of Chouko flashed across his mind... He remembered her wearing an odd school uniform in that image...
...And...wings were sprouting out of her back...
"Crap," snarled Takahashi in his thoughts. "What the hell has been going on with my mind the past few days?! Those can't possibly be memories I keep experiencing. I don't even know these people! ...Wait a minute, why would I even think those images are memories? They could just be snippets of random-ass dreams I'm having for some stupid reason. Yeah, those have to be dreams. I've had strange dreams before. They never concerned me, and they certainly shouldn't be right now."
With a grunt, he opened the door to his room, stepped inside, and closed the door behind him with an aggressive slam.
Takahashi always liked sleeping. But now, for some reason, he had no desire to do so. Not at all.
Upon hearing Takahashi slam his bedroom door shut, Chouko stopped dead in her tracks. An unknown force was compelling her to check on the red-haired boy again. However, as much as she appreciated him for keeping to his word and not sharing her...their secret to her father, the girl still held him with some contempt. She could never view anyone as immature and impulsive as Arata Takahashi in a positive light. That was a concrete viewpoint too. One that she wouldn't change so easily. After all, that was why she gave him such a vague answer to the question he asked. She still couldn't afford to give him the benefit of the doubt.
So, she resumed walking...
A cascade of glittering tears...
Chouko aggressively shook her head to clear her mind as she continued walking.
Unknown location
"We have arrived at the location, sir."
The man with the golden hood sneered as he began stroking the dead rabbit on his necklace again.
"Excellent," he replied. "Is everyone all set up?"
"Yes. We are fully-armed and in position, sir, just awaiting the order."
"And we begin the next phase of the plan..." the hooded man whispered to himself, his evil sneer widening. Then, he ordered, "Do it. Remember the objective."
"Yes, sir, will do."
Reserved Bedroom of Arata Takahashi
KA-BOOM!
Just before Takahashi could get fully settled into his bed, he shot upward with a surprised shout at the moment he heard the noise of the explosion. It was apparently close or powerful enough to cause everything in his room to rattle and tremble, with some objects even falling over in the process.
"What the hell?!" he exclaimed. "What was that?!"
He got out of his bed, put on his slippers, and prepared to approach the door to his bedroom, intending to leave. However, before he can reach for the doorknob, the door suddenly swung open, once again surprising him and causing him to fall over. Looking up, he quickly recognized the panicked face of Junna. In the background, he could hear numerous loud banging noises sounding in the distance, along with what sounded like a mob screaming angrily, incomprehensibly.
"What the hell's going on?!" Takahashi shouted. "What was that explosion?!"
"We're under attack!" replied Junna, her eyes wide in fear.
The redhead's eyes widened in shock. "Wh-What?! By who?!"
"I do not know, but they already broke through the front gate and they are now trying to get into the mansion!" She looked back, apparently to see if the doors were knocked down already, then stretched out her hand. "Come with me, Arata-sama! We need to get you and the others to the panic room, posthaste!"
Takahashi wasted no time in grabbing Junna's hand. The maid helped him up to his feet, then began guiding him down the staircase. There, he spotted the front door, which he noticed was buckling under the weight of something smashing against it repeatedly, like a battering ram. As Junna redirected him to the nearest living room, he could hear the unidentified attackers outside shouting things along the lines of "WE'RE COMING FOR YOU, HASHIMOTO!" and "YOU WILL PAY FOR INSULTING US!"
Outside Hashimoto Manor
Fuyuhiko Ezakiya stood by the outer perimeter of Hashimoto Manor, watching as a small crowd of people swarmed around the mansion walls. They were aggressively breaking out the windows and smashing homemade battering rams against the doors, all in attempts to gain entry to the building. Snickering to himself at the sights of all the chaos, the boy sneaked past the totaled gate and into the garden, hiding in the confines of the darkness as he watched his idols continue to wreak havoc.
"Yes, that's right, baby," he whispered to himself maliciously. "Burn that baby down..."
He then spotted some strange movement at the corner of his eye. Glancing up at a window on the upper floor, he saw a hint of silver strands retreating...
His grin widened even further, and he chuckled sadistically.
"This oughta be very interesting..."
Hashimoto Manor Living Room
"So..." Takahashi said, looking around in the living room, "where exactly is this panic room, Junna-san?"
"Over here, Arata-sama!" exclaimed Junna as she approached a small golden statue sitting on a simple wooden table located beside the fireplace. At first, Takahashi was confused about why she would approach such an item, but when a window burst open with a crash and an unknown object suddenly burst into flames, engulfing a nicely-decorated curtain, he didn't ask twice and ran up to the maid. Once he did, she pushed the statue downward into the table.
"What in the world?..." the boy asked, seconds before the fireplace began to slowly open up with a mechanical grind. His eyes bulged wide. "WHOA! COOL!"
As the fireplace continued to open up, a group of four people joined Takahashi and Junna. The redheaded boy recognized them as Chouko, Fuuta, and two maids.
"Interesting," remarked Chouko. "This is the first time the Hashimoto family has ever had to use the panic room..."
"Must we be logical even in the face of death, Chouko?!" Fuuta shouted, dissatisfied by her factual comment.
"The Kū!"
Everyone turned towards the broken window, and staring through it was a hooded man. The bright, raging flames illuminated his face, and especially his wide eyes.
"The Kū!" he shouted again, pointing at Chouko. "Everyone! It's the Kū!"
"What?!" another man cried. "Did you just say Kū? Where? Where?!"
"There!"
Several other men gathered around the broken window. Just like the first man, their eyes widened, and some of them even began crying.
"It's the Kū!" they all roared.
"Uh...what?..." Fuuta asked, an eyebrow raised in confusion.
"I've got no idea..." replied Takahashi, equally puzzled.
"I do not like their tone of these men," Chouko said, though her voice was calm. "Quick, into the panic room, everyone."
Everyone dashed into the now-completely-open fireplace, where Takahashi saw Kimiko, Hasumi, Sadahiro, and several butlers and maids. Chouko looked around.
"Wait a minute," she said, "where's Mother?"
"She should've been retrieved by now," replied Sadahiro. "I don't know what's wrong..."
Suddenly, the group heard more glass shattering, and this time, the voices clamoring outside seemed to be pouring inside. Junna's eyes widened in horror.
"They breached the mansion!" she cried. Indeed, everyone could see dozens of hooded people entering the living room, holding torches and bladed weapons.
"SEAL THE PANIC ROOM, JUNNA-SAN!" ordered Sadahiro.
"BUT WHAT ABOUT-?" Junna began.
"THAT'S AN ORDER!"
Not wanting to argue with her superior any further, Junna pressed a red button located next to the doorway. To Chouko's shock, the fireplace began to close.
"NO!" she cried. "What about Mother, Father?!"
"We must think about ourselves and our well-being right now, Chouko!" Sadahiro replied sternly. "We can only pray she somehow made it out of here safely..."
"NO!" one of the men roared. "WE MUST GET HER! WE MUST GET THE KU!"
The men charged forward towards the fireplace, their weapons ready, but by the time they could reach it, it was too late. The fireplace closed with a deafeningly loud clang before any of them could enter the room. The entire group, except for Chouko, breathed sighs of relief as they heard the men roar and snarl in anger, followed by a loud shattering noise, more flames, and something wooden collapsing. Hasumi immediately collapsed on one of the panic room's seats.
"My God..." she whispered. "My God... It was those cultists, wasn't it? There's no way it had to be anyone else. ...We nearly got murdered by them..."
"At least we're safe, Hasumi," said Kimiko comfortingly. "We're alive, and that's all that matters-"
"But now they know what we look like! And we saw their faces!" She buried her face in her palms. "No doubt they will try to hunt us all down and kill us to cover their tracks!" Then, she gasped and looked up at Kimiko. "Oh, no... And maybe our loved ones too! Oh my God, oh my God, OH MY GOD!"
"Stay calm, Itagaki," Sadahiro said suddenly, his voice calm and collected. "We must not afford our emotions to conflict with our instinct to survive."
"Says you! You don't seem bothered at all by the potential loss of your WIFE, and Chouko's MOTHER, for God's sake! What kind of person reacts like that?!"
"Hey, hey, come on now, Hasumi-" began Takahashi, but Sadahiro gestured towards him to keep silent.
"It's okay, Takahashi. Her emotions, and her reaction are completely understandable, and for that, I forgive her words. However, my point still stands. We must divert our attention to more pressing matters." He approached the opposite end of the panic room and pressed a green button, which caused the wall to slowly open. "Such as making a getaway. This tunnel leads to an abandoned shed on some property the Hashimoto family owns. I called the police before the cultists attacked, so there's units waiting for us there to retrieve us." He stepped into the tunnel before looking back at the others. "Come on, everyone. We do not have any more time to waste."
Realizing there was no other viable option, Takahashi wordlessly stepped into the tunnel with Sadahiro, followed by Kimiko, then Hasumi, then the others. Finally, the last one to remain in the panic room was Chouko. The silver-haired teenage girl was still staring at the first doorway of the panic room, a sad expression on her face.
"Chouko, come," Sadahiro called sternly. "We must not think about your mother right now. She would want you to flee for your life."
Chouko remained silent and still. Realizing she wasn't going to move, Takahashi stepped out of the hallway and grabbed her hand, catching her attention.
"Come on, Chouko," he said gently. "We have to get out of here."
She looked at his hand as it clutched hers, then looked back up at him. Seeing the emotion glimmering in his soft eyes, she exhaled softly and gripped his hand back.
Outside Hashimoto Manor
Fuyuhiko watched gleefully as the cultists continued to shatter windows and set the mansion on fire. Strands of drool were dangling from the corners of his lips as he watched the horrific scene unfold in front of him. As soon as one strand of drool fell from his lips and onto the ground, he licked his lips and began to snicker evilly.
He prepared to move his position so he could get a better view of the right wing of the mansion, which was completely set ablaze. However, he stopped as soon as his knee bumped into something. Looking down, he saw a portion of a pipe sticking out from the earth, which partially read 'HASHIMOTO'. He could see more portions of the pipe sticking out in other different areas of the ground, all in some sort of line. His eyes narrowed at the pipe.
"Hmmm..." he whispered, smirking malevolently. "I wonder..."
Then, something glinted at the corner of his eye. He glared at that direction, and noticed a long knife and a hammer, likely discarded by a cultist on accident.
An abandoned shed
On Hashimoto-owned property
"Here we are, ladies and gentlemen..." Sadahiro announced. He opened up the wooden trapdoor coated with cobwebs, revealing a rundown wooden ceiling. Everyone walked up a creaky staircase and looked around, noticing the walls were covered with rusty iron sheets and had absolutely nothing else.
"What a shed," remarked Takahashi, just before he nearly bumped into a hanging strand of cobweb and flinched at the sight of it.
"Well, we obviously didn't want our exit route to be conspicuous. But don't worry, it is not as if the shed will collapse on us at any moment."
"That's a relief..." Kimiko whispered to herself sarcastically. Then, she noticed Chouko, who still looked glum. "Are you okay, Chouko?"
"Yes, I am," she replied. "Thank you for your sincere concern, Nishimura."
"So, what do we do now?" Hasumi asked as she looked around, examining the shed. "Where do we exit this place?"
"Right here..." Hashimoto approached a well-hidden door and opened it.
A second later, a gray blur flew, and Sadahiro collapsed to the ground with a grunt. Blood streaked across his forehead and dripped on the ground. Hasumi and Junna both screamed, while Takahashi, Chouko, and Fuuta's skins paled. Two butlers tried to move forward to drag their superior away, but a blur of a person dashed inside the shed, violently swinging something that was glinting with the pale moonlight. Split-seconds later, both butlers fell to the ground with screams of pain; one of them was holding his stomach as blood trickled through his fingers, while the other was already putting pressure on his neck as blood flowed through his fingers like a river.
Hasumi screamed again, to which the attacker stopped moving. He was a teenage boy with black hair that fell over his beady black eyes, casting them in shadow, and blood was streaked across his plain tan T-shirt and dripping onto his torn blue jeans. In his right hand was a bloody long knife, in his left a hammer.
"Hello there," he greeted, his lips curving into a twisted grin. "You know, for a good escape route, you guys were downright stupid for keeping parts of the tunnel you used exposed. Followed it right here." He flipped his knife upside-down as Takahashi, Chouko, and Kimiko eyed it warily. "Too bad the cultists didn't notice... But when I kill you, all of you, and show your dead bodies to them, maybe, just maybe they'll finally induct me into their group! And I can find the answer I've been seeking for such a damn long time! I, Fuyuhiko Ezakiya, will become one with the supreme deity and be cleansed of my sins! HAHAHA!"
"You're CRAZY!" Fuuta shouted.
Fuyuhiko raised an eyebrow, still grinning. "Am I?"
He charged past Hasumi and clubbed Fuuta in the head with the hammer, knocking him out. Chouko's eyes widened slightly, but she didn't exhibit any other reaction. As for Takahashi, he growled angrily and tore off a loose stick of wood from the dilapidated wall, swinging it at Fuyuhiko but missing.
"RUN!" he shouted. "RUN, EVERYONE, WHILE I HOLD HIM OFF!"
"Oh, really?" Fuyuhiko asked. "I'd LOVE to see ya try..."
He swung his hammer, hitting Takahashi's weapon but failing to break it. Junna seized this chance to reopen the trapdoor and escort the remaining butlers and maids inside the tunnel. She then tried to make her way to Fuuta's unconscious body, but Fuyuhiko noticed and swung his knife at her, forcing her to back off. Unfortunately for Fuyuhiko, this distracted him long enough for Takahashi to swing his stick down on his right arm, causing him to drop the knife.
"RUN!" he roared at Chouko and Kimiko.
"Takahashi-" began Kimiko.
"I SAID RUN!"
Suddenly, he felt something hard hit his head at a high speed, and the world began spinning in front of him. He collapsed on the ground, dropping his stick. He could vaguely hear Fuyuhiko giggling maniacally, which then escalated into mad laughter. The laughter was growing closer and closer...
"TAKAHASHI!" he heard Kimiko and Hasumi scream at once.
Takahashi knew then and there that he was going to die...
Then, he heard Fuyuhiko issue a loud grunt of surprise, along with Chouko grunting and panting aggressively. Regaining his sense of balance, the redheaded teenage boy groaned and inched his head upward, and he saw the silver-haired girl wrestling with Fuyuhiko over control of the hammer. Nearby, Junna had dragged her son's form back to the safety of the tunnel and was now going over to Sadahiro. Takahashi tried to stand up, but was still feeling slightly disoriented from the blow.
After a couple of minutes of struggling, Chouko finally managed to wrestle the hammer away from Fuyuhiko's grip. Takahashi expected her to incapacitate him with it, but to his complete anguish, she merely threw it to the other side of the room. Fuyuhiko angrily punched her, causing her to fall off him. He then stood up and kicked her on the side, causing Takahashi to wince as soon as she cried out in pain. Then, he went over to the fallen knife and picked it up.
Takahashi's eyes widened in horror as Fuyuhiko cleaned his knife before stalking towards Chouko, his knife glinting.
"No..." the redhead moaned. "No, no, no... Don't hurt her... Don't you dare hurt her..."
"Don't worry," replied Fuyuhiko, grinning sadistically. "I'm not gonna hurt her...much..."
"No, no, no, no, no... No, get away from her, now... No... Stop it...stop it..."
Chouko, still reeling from the blows she received, looked up at Fuyuhiko as he continued to advance on her. Takahashi could see the fear in her golden eyes.
"No," he groaned. "No, no, no, stop it, stop it... Get away from her, get away from her now, you sick bastard! Stop it! No! No, no, NO!"
Fuyuhiko knelt down towards Chouko and began stroking her silver hair. His grin was still in place as he raised his knife.
"NO! STOP! NO!" Then, Takahashi hollered, "KANADE!"
NEXT TIME ON "THE WINGS OF AN ANGEL"
Chouko: What...What did you call me?
Unknown: From here until the day we round up all of those cultists, I will be responsible for your safety...
Sadahiro: I must've brought this madness upon us...
Yumie: H-H-H-Hi...
Kimiko: You're...You're right...
Junna: I'm pretty sure those flowers were for you.
Hasumi: Hello there, Kimiko.
C: Well, this certainly looks interesting, doesn't it?...
Chapter 9: Skins Shed, Part 2 of 2
A/N: And here we are, ladies and gentlemen. The long-delayed new chapter of "The Wings of an Angel". Yes, this story's still alive and I'm still committed to finishing it. I will commence work on the next chapter on due time, but I am currently behind on my schedule for another story of mine, so there may be another delay for the next chapter as well. Hopefully not as long, but still. Once again, I just wanted everyone to know this story's still alive!
I'd like to thank those who reviewed (can't answer reviews right now, sorry):
Queen Ore-sama
Exleader75
Bunnys-n-PenguinsWillRuleEarth
Red (guest reviewer)
Guest reviewer
Otaku Prince
Well, hope you enjoyed this LONG-OVERDUE chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!
