Shinkai opened his eyes to see a familiar ceiling, the white ceiling of a hospital. Trying to move himself, he realized that he had bandages all over him, making him almost look like a mummy. Whose idea was this? He thought annoyingly as he concentrated the MAG inside his body, guided them throughout his body and sealed the wounds for him. Irritatingly, he ripped off the bandages and sat straight up
"I see that you have awake" A young man with black hair formally combed to the side entered the room. Both of his hands is covered with a pair of white gloves, with the Onmyodo symbol on them. Through his glasses, his squinting eyes met Shinkai's. Closing the book on his hand, he made it disappeared into thin air. Shinkai adverted his eyes toward the door but then suddenly, a wall of ice blocked it completely "You should rest for a little more. 20 stitches aren't normal, most people couldn't survive that kind of injuries"
"I survived worse!" he said with disdain as he laid down again, not wanting to mess with the man "How did I got here?"
"The kids dragged you out of the street!" he said calmly as his book appeared on his hand again as he took a seat at the corner of the room "They had to carry you back here!"
"Yeah… I made a miscalculation" Shinkai scratched his head awkwardly "I didn't suspect that many Youkai"
"And yet, you survived" the man said amusingly as he continued to read his book "You never cease to amaze me"
"I'll take that as a compliment" Shinkai said with a deadpan "But Nurarihyon got away, along with the 1/3 of the party"
"And the 2/3 of them?" the man asked without looking up from his book
"I was able to trap them all within the 'Close world'. After that, they are like moth to fire, keep on charging at me, ignoring the traps and their comrades being killed by traps. I was able to kill them all" and then he pointed at the stiches near his stomach "I took the first hit here, then one after another! They were able to dislocated one of my shoulder after paralyzed it. After sometime, Nurarihyon and 1/3 rest of the party broke the close world's barrier and withdrew!"
"You were lucky that they decided to retreat, what would have happened if Nurarihyon attacked you in your current state at the time" he said as he sipped a cup of tea that just appeared on his hand "Then I suppose we wouldn't even have this conversation right now! Even healing spells have their limits, Shinkai! They CAN'T heal fatal wound!"
"Yeah, I know that!" he frowned upon the remark, he is totally capable of defending himself against Nurarihyon "Anyway… How long have I been out?"
"4 days and 8 hours! We tried our best!" the man said as he waved his hand and the curtains opened themselves, inviting sunshine through the window, lightened up the room "So I supposed a good morning is proper?"
"A coffee might help too" Shinkai smiled and held his hand out expectedly. Sighing, the man waved his hand and a pot of coffee and a cup started flying toward Shinkai. The cup landed peacefully on Shinkai's hands while the pot poured the coffee in. Then with a snapped of hand, the pot disappeared into thin air "Thank you" Shinkai said happily as he started to enjoy his cup of coffee when there were knocking sounds from behind the ice wall
"May I come in?" a feminine called out for permission from behind the wall. Sighing while making his book disappeared into thin air, the young man approached Shinkai and patted him on the shoulder
"Keep trying your best! I'll handle things back here!" he smiled reassuringly and confidently, which earned him a smile back from Shinkai. Patted his shoulder one more time, the man lifted his hand and started walking toward the wall, dispersing the wall in the process, revealing a group of people behind it. he casually walked past them without greeting them and headed down the corridor
"Thank for your work, Abe-sensei" he called out loud to the man, who waved back at him while still have his back toward Shinkai, before he disappeared from sight.
His eyes then darkened a bit as he turned toward the group, which consisted of a stern man with grey pony tail hair, a woman with black raven hair, a serious-looking woman with short dark blue hair which her left band covered half of her face with an ahoge sticking out on top of her head, a young man with short orange hair, held together by a red banada, a serious-looking wannabe man with slicked back red hair, a nervous-looking young girl with blond hair somehow tied into twin drills style, a shy and petite girl with pink hair tied into one bun on the right side of her head, and a bored-looking woman with black pony tail hair, picking her nose boringly even though he was looking at her. They all wear a kind of military-like black leather uniform with white lining, excepted for the bored woman who was in a lab coat
"My mind was a little bit wozzy? Cuzzy? Fuzzy at that time so I just wanted to ask you again?" he said with his serious tone, making the blond girl and the orange hair boy to shiver a bit "No one except from everyone here know about my injuries, yes?
"No" the woman with dark blue hair answered plainly without changing her facial expression on bit even though Shinkai was staring at them pretty hard. He continued to stare at her even after she answer with even greater intense. After a while, he only sighed
"I need to improve my 'scary stare' technique more" he closed his eyes and frowned lightly as he rubbed his eyes lightly "Normally, I wouldn't doubt you, but their expressions telling me something" he pointed at the people behind her. The blond girl, the orange hair boy, the red hair guy, the raven hair woman, and the petite were all standing like they were saluting him which they ever so often do while continuously sweating "Now, it's not like I'm accusing you of lying or anything" he smiled but his face was not "I just want you to know that honesty will be rewarded, while deceptions and lies will be severely and thoroughly punished. This included a 10-days-11-night trip to Izumo picking mushroom"
They all started sweating because they know he would never joke about punishments. All eyes were on the woman with the dark blue hair and deadpan face. After a long time of silence, she finally opened her mouth "Not really"
YOU IDIOT! They all screamed mentally, well, 3 of them actually yelled it out loud, at her respond. Shinkai facial express lighten up a bit at the scene
"Is that so, then I have to trust you then" he chuckled lightly "Then off we go then!" he said as he jumped off the bed
"Where to?" they all asked him with a confused face
"The portal room, of course! I have no spare time!" he quickly got dressed since he realized he was only in a boxer "There are mysteries to unravel! I can't just stay here forever!"
"B-But you had just recovered, shouldn't you rest a little more?" the young pink hair girl said timidly "And stayed with us a little more?"
"No can't do" he said as he putting on his jacket and hat and headed for the door, but stopped to pat the pink hair girl on the head "But I'll be back! I always be back!" with that said, he quickly made his way down the corridor, where Motsu was waiting for him just by the corner in her room "And don't be worry, Izumo has a large variaties of mushrooms, so have fun!" he smiled sadistically as he entered the elevator, leaving the group both dumbfound and terrified
"I really didn't think it through!" he had a contempt of his own intelligence while Motsu eating ice cream right next to him as they both sat on a bench in Iwatodai Station. He can't just show up after disappearing for almost a week. Presumed that they already know what happened to him, facing Ginko, who he lied to again, and Yomi and Fuuka, who he promised that nothing will happen to him, would be hard "Why do I have to have a student? Why do I have to have a daughter-figure? Why do I have to have a love interest?" he muttered to himself in despair when Motsu tugged his jacket. Turned to her with hopping face, he asked happily "You have an idea?"
"I want more ice cream!" she said plainly with her deadpan face as she pointed at the ice cream cart "Go buy me some more!"
"You practically keep my money!" he said out of frustration "And it literally will only cost you 15 second to walk to there! Go buy it yourself!"
She huffed and jumped off the bench and made way toward the ice cream cart with a pouting face while muttering "Jerk!". Shinkai didn't pay attention though, he was in his thought again. Numerous scenarios started playing in his mind. Scenarios 1, they all happy to see him again and forgive him, and then nothing happen. Scenarios 2, Fuuka will forgive, but will ask to train her harder so that she can help, Yomi will forgive, but will be more suspicious toward his word, Ginko will forgive, just like before. Scenarios 3, Fuuka will forgive, and everything will go back to normal, Yomi might not forgive, but she will in time, Ginko will not forgive, and never will talk to him again. Scenarios 4, nobody forgive and Ginko betrayed him, Yomi left him, Fuuka and S.E.E.S lose trust in him. And the scenarios kept on playing, driving into a spiral of delusions
Slapping himself in the face, which caused Motsu who had just bought her ice cream jumped a bit, he regained his use of mental faculties. Brought out his phone, he phoned the person he trusts most in S.E.E.S "Yeah! Hey! It's me! Wanna see a movie?"
"So mind telling me why are they here?" Motsu asked with disdain as she started to question Shinkai's ability to have rational thoughts. In front of them are all the male members of S.E.E.S, with the addition of Minako
"What? We're guys, most of us are anyway, it is easier to talk with them than with the women!" he tried to defend himself "Beside, Owlman vs Ultraman: Dawn of Evil is showing today, I'm sure they all want to see it, right guys?"
"I have a plan today" Said Akihiko, Junpei and Shinji as they turned around and about to leave, just before Shinkai caught them by the collars. Although he was smiling, veins started popping out of his forehead
"I can make your life a whole lot harder, so please, watch a movie with me!" he 'pledged' them "And we all know that Akihiko's plan is training, Shinji's plan is reading cook book in the bookstore and Junpei's plan is finding a girlfriend before summer end and we also know that is impossible"
"How did y—?" Shinji looked like he was about to strangle Shinkai, while Junpei was thrown into a spiral of doubt and despair. Akihiko was unaffected though.
"So it is settle! Movie it is!" he upped and marched toward the cinema happily "And don't worry Ken! Even if this movie is rated 16+, I'll make sure that they let you in!" he threw a thumb up at Ken, who looked a little worried
"Whew! How do you like the movie?" they finished the movie 2 hours later and was then sitting in a restaurant nearby
"I like the girl, Superwoman! She's so hot and evil! My ideal woman!"
"But the movie is kinda dark! I hope Ken-kun doesn't get affect by it!"
"I like the fighting, it was so epic!"
"It was also so impractical! I mean, how could Owlman even stand a chance against Ultraman? One punch from Ultraman and Owlman is done!"
"Their reason to stop fighting was stupid! They became best friends because they both killed their parents? Idiots!"
"I'm hungry!"
"Alright! Let's order!" Shinkai threw a few menus at them and ordered something for his own. The boys continued to debate the movie even more while they waited for the food
"So, are you going to tell me why you call us here?" Shinji finally brought it up as they walked the street of Iwatodai. The boys intended to stop him but Shinkai only waved it off and smiled
"Well, the truth is…" he sat down in midair and turned toward them "I'm kinda scared"
"You? Scared?" They all looked at him with surprised "Shinkai-san! I saw you mutilated a demon until he was nothing but a pile of goo while his friends standing behind you with their weapons pointed at you!"
"You slapped a demon in the face! And then its butt!"
"You flirted with a hideous demon with 6 arms!"
"You eat raw Tofu!"
"Well, not that kind of afraid!" while he was kind of flattered, now was not the time "I'm afraid of facing three specific individuals!"
"You afraid of seeing Yomi-san, don't you?" Minato asked, while he is not showing emotion, Shinkai can tell that he is smirking. Minato then showed Shinkai his phone screen "I have a message from her, though"
"Traitor!" Shinkai pointed and screamed at him comically "I can't believe I actually though I could trust you… what did she said?"
"She said that if you don't come back within 5 minute since this message was sent, she will send the video of you being striped by demons to all of your friends" Shinkai suddenly remembered the shameful memory "That 2 hours ago. Because I wanted to see that, I didn't tell you. She sent me a copy"
"Really? Turn it on!" Minako and the guys quickly flocked over Minato. Then there was a sound of muffing, of screaming coming from the phone and loud laughter from the boys. Even Shinji and Minato were laughing "Send it to me too!"
"Me too" Akihiko and Junpei jumped in with his phone, and soon, Shinji also asked for the video. From a far, all Shinkai could do was smile while they laughing at him, including Motsu who was trying to hold her laugh next to him
"S-S-Sorry, i-it just that… when I remember it… I CAN'T STOP LAUGHING!" she then burst into a volley of laughter and started to roll on the ground. Shinkai closed his eyes and breathe calmly before launching into the sky
"And that's why I'm here!" he sat in the velvet room with his face between his hands while Theodore comforted him, not Elizabeth though, she was too busy laughing at the video which she somehow acquired from Minato "Can you guys let me stay her from now on?"
"Not possible! Only the residents of the velvet room can reside in it" Margaret said, crushing all Shinkai's hope while sipping her tea and reading her grimoire "Not to mention that we already have one Theodore, we don't need another crybaby!"
His eyes twitched upon hearing those words. Removed his face from his hands, he smiled "Hey! You hurting someone's feeling here, ice queen!"
"Then I apologized to Theodore. At least he doesn't act like a teenager and run away from his problem! It would not be right to categorize him with that person!" she said without looking at them, although her voice indicated that she does not enjoy being called that
"Do you need more ice? your forehead is swollen up!" Shinkai smirked after that remark as Margaret closed her book violently after hearing that. Elizabeth had moved from laughing at the video to laughing at the remark
"No thanks, not like you can do anything without your demons anyway" she then summoned a piece of floating ice shard then crushed it "but maybe your tears would do. After all, babies tend to cry a lot, don't they?"
"I can use magic even without my demon! You do well to remember that!" he summoned a bigger ice shard and crushed as well "I trained the art of ancient Arcane from a famous mage in London! I also learnt the art of makes up which can turn the ugliest woman into the most beautiful one, I reckon you give it a try!
"Unlike you, I'm a natural beauty!" she smirked, although the veins popping out of her forehead indicated that she was not happy "If you think that wearing black automatically made you look cool and handsome, then you a deluded imbecile!"
"I think you might need a new barber. Your hair showing too much of your forehead, it looks like an airplane runway!" he stated with twitching eyes, but still have a smiled on his face, and a hand on the sword
"Coming from you, that's a compliment! Your hair look like you tend it 10 hours a day with a horse brush" she said back with veins popping out of her forehead, but still have a smile on her face, and a card on her hand
"Guys…" Theodore tried to stop them, but upon meeting Shinkai and Margaret's eyes, he whimpered away
"Does killing a velvet resident make you a velvet resident?" Shinkai said as he drew his sword
"Does killing you make you shut up?" Margaret started floating opened her book and held cards on her hands
"Let's find out" They both charged at each other. Shinkai countered most of her spells with his own. Although he is capable of using magic, it drains a lot of MAG and he can't win a long battle. Blasting a fireball toward Margaret's ice shard, he created a mist, blocking her view. Moving behind her, he emerged from the mist and aimed for her neck with his reversed blade. But then she disappeared from his eyes just by the last moment. Looking up, he saw Margaret floating above him with a smirk
"Don't gloat just because you can't float!" he yelled as he crouched down, ready for the jumped when a gigantic fist fell on him, crushing him underneath it
"Don't cry when you die!" she said coldly but her eyes widen as the fist got sliced into and Shinkai came flying at her. His sword was stopped by another sword, Yoshitsune. Jumping backward avoiding a slash from Yoshitsune, Shinkai took out a Kuda in his jacket and summoned his own Yoshitsune
"Hey boss, who am I fighting today?" Yoshitsune greeted Shinkai but then his question was answered as the other Yoshitsune came crashing in, his sword aiming for Shinkai's head. Fortunately for Shinkai, the sword was intercepted by his Yoshitsune "Like looking into a mirror! Nothing more exciting than fighting myself!" he grinned and pushed the other Yoshitsune away and started attacking him. Shinkai was distracted a bit by the scene when a giant fire ball hit him, burning him for an instance. He quickly built an ice pod around him and healed himself from the burn from within the melting ice pod. When the ice pod fully melted and there was smoke anywhere, blocking Margaret's view, Shinkai jumped up from behind her, and slashed down at her neck. His blade met with her card and they started exchanging blow while still in air. Although Margaret attack was more powerful, Shinkai's techniques prevented her from striking him down.
Their blows created shockwaves and cracking sounds across the room, creating visual effect and amazing sound effect for the audience, namely Elizabeth. They continued to exchanging blow, throwing spell whenever they saw an opening, and summon demons and personas to fight each other for a very long time when a sound of clapping hand can be heard. And then, every action stopped. Margaret stopped first as soon as she saw the source of the sound, and Shinkai followed afterward. Floating behind them was a man, or so Shinkai think. His face was covered by a white mask, with amazingly detailed butterfly wing on the left. He was wearing a full white suit, like he was attending someone funeral
"Amazing display of power! To think that a human can actually going toe-to-toe with Margaret!" he voiced his opinion with a laugh. His voice was oddly familiar to Shinkai, though he cannot remember where did he heard it "But why don't you two settle down before you destroy my velvet room?"
For some reason, Shinkai just sheathed his sword and descended down to a chair that had just magically appeared. The man then took a seat opposite to him on a chair which also had just magically appeared, across a table that had just also magically appeared. As they all settled down, the man started to talk "Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Philemon. I am the creator of all velvet room and its residents"
"I think I have seen you somewhere before" Shinkai said as he squeaked his brain, trying to remember "You remind me of that butterfly I saw. The same aura, the same feeling"
"Is that so?" Philemon said amusingly "But set aside that now, what Margaret said is true, only the residents of the velvet room can reside in it!" Shinkai nodded his head in understanding "But it is not new for a normal human to become it resident. Long ago, there was a painter that exceed all around him, so he hoped to capture the heart of people with his art. I granted him his wish by making a resident of the velvet room" Shinkai listen carefully without a sound "But I can't just offer you something like that! The velvet room and its residents's sole purpose is to assist and guide its guests to their final destination. Unless you can offer any help, I can't just make a velvet attendant"
"Well, as far as I know, I am the only one with the full knowledge of demons in this room. I also can provide useful tips and technique to battle against them. I can also perform Demon fusion with items and turned them into enchanted items" he then pointed at the glasses on his face "I can also make glasses that allow normal people to see demons!"
"Splendid!" Philemon clapped his hand and a contract appeared on the table "If you want to be a velvet residents, just sign the contract!" He pushed the pen toward Shinkai, but stopped in midway "Just know this, you cannot run away from everything. The time here in the Velvet room is different to the world outside. An eternity can pass in here and nothing will have changed in the real world and vice versa. And to stay true to their nature, a Velvet resident must not interfere with its guest journey, which mean he cannot leave the Velvet room without reason. Knowing this, will you take on this offer I had given you?"
Shinkai sat and looked Philemon straight in the eyes before snatching the pen from his hand and put it in his pocket "Maybe not now, but in a far future! Even though I have much to do, this is still too much to let pass! Thank you!" with that said, he stood up and left for the door, but turned back as he walked "You let me in! Why?"
"You play a crucial role in our guest destiny" Philemon said as he sipped on a cup of whatever he had just summoned "And because you're interesting"
"So you know this would happened…" Shinkai deduced "So that was a test? What would have happened if I failed?"
"Don't think too hard on that" Philemon smiled as he continued to sipped on his cup. Seeing this, Shinkai only smiled understandingly and left through the door "It is a shame that he didn't sign though" Philemon said as he took a glance at the contract
I chooseth this fate of mine own free will
He waved his hand and the contract disappeared, and a tarot card 'Sun' took its place "Will the sun continue to shine, or will its light extinguish?"
Shinkai kept circling around in front of the dorm, tapping his chin, then forehead, then his cheek, then his fingers with his finger. He then squatted up and down next to the down for a few times before taking a deep breath and grab the knob, then let go again and started squatting while trying to calm himself again. He then stood up again and grabbed the door knob again, but then let go and crumbled down, hugging his head in shame
"What are you? A teenager girl who about to confess?" a voice called out from behind him. Quickly looked back in terror, he found Yukari standing with a bag full of groceries looking at him with disdain "Move away from the door so I can get in, this stuff is heavy!"
"Y-Yes!" he hung his head shamefully as he opened the door for Yukari who walked passed him with a huff
"Are you coming or not?" She asked annoyingly, making Shinkai realized that he had been holding that door for a full minute then. Apparently, there was no one at the dorm at the moment, and Yukari had to make dinner herself because Yomi had not been making dinner the last 4 days and Minako was too lazy to make any because she thought beef bowl taste too good
"Y-Yes!" he stuttered again and quickly got inside. He walked up next to her to see some egg, vegetable and a beef on the table "What are you making?"
"Minced beef and fried egg" She answered as she put on a pink apron. Shinkai wanted to help, but he kinda afraid to ask, so he just looked at her and hope that she understand him. Yukari just looked at him weirdly like she was looking at the thing she disgust most in the world "What?"
"Maybe, I can… help?" he said as he rolled his eyes away. Yukari just looked at him wearily and sighed
"You know how to cook?" she asked skeptically
"I picked up a few things when I was living alone" he smiled reassuringly
"Fine, why don't you help me with the beef?" Shinkai eyes shone as he grabbed the beef and a knife "I want it thoroughly minc…"
"Done" he pushed a bowl of very minced beef toward her
"That was pretty fast!" she stated with awe as she was just cracking the eggs
"I have been mincing demons for a long time now, so I have some techniques" he stated proudly "What do you need me to do next?"
"Then go cook the rice, cut the tomato into square pieces, then boil some water so that I can make soup" Shinkai nodded and got to work "And don't make too much, since Yomi-san had not been making dinner the last 4 days, most of the members would likely eat outside"
"Roger that!" he said as he started to calculate how much rice would be enough for 2, but then give up and pour in about half the rice cooker's pot "Where is Yomi?"
"I heard she and Fuuka and Miki-san or Ginko-san or whatever her name is went to have some sushi tonight" she said as she skillfully cut up the spring onions "Where were you the last 4 days?"
"Well… I got injured and had to go to Kyoto to recovered" he said honestly as he picked up a knife and started dicing the tomato, but this time not at hyper speed "I lost more blood than I anticipated so…"
"Figured! You left quite a blood trail" Shinkai cursed himself for being so careless
"I-Is that so?" he smiled wryly
"Fuuka told me about some Hyakki Yagyo thing. Is that why you got injured? What is it?" Shinkai was surprised, was she worrying about him. He was touched
"Yeah… It basically a parade of Youkai and demons that occur each year in the summer where a lot of Youkai meet up and party out, killing all human in their way" he explained vaguely
"And you took on it by your own? You really are a mad man!" AWWW, so she was worrying about him
"I have done crazier things before, though. Like taking on a secret organization which I basically belong to and kill their god while burn the whole organization down" he finished with the tomato as the speak and had move on to the water
"I surprise you're still alive" she started mixing the egg, some spring onion, some tomato and the meat together
"Me too" he too started putting some spring onion, some tomato and eggs into the boiling water "I just have a knack for kicking death in the nuts and run away!"
She chuckled at his joke as they continued cooking. There was a silent between them until they finish cooking and started display stuff on the table. And in silent, they sat down and started their meal "How did you know?" she started first
"Know what?" Shinkai asked back, but he somehow already know what she was talking about
"About my dad. How did he know he was a scientist that die that night?" her voice was emotional but her eyes were stern, Shinkai respected that
"I have my sources. People who used to work for Kirijo Group. People who used to work with your father" he said apologetically "They told me about your dad"
"Is that so?" She said disappointingly as she returned to her meal
"Would you like to meet them?" he asked, maybe out of guilt for teasing her about something so precious to her, or maybe sympathy "I can arrange it"
"What's the point?" she said apathetically "What can I do now? I had learnt the truth about my father death, that's why I was here in the first place, that why I had to tolerate this curse you call 'Persona' for so long"
Shinkai chuckled at the responds. He always thought she is rather moody and angsty teenager who is also somewhat hypocrite. He stood by that deduction but now he can understand her reason. She hates a lot and doesn't understand much. She hates the Dark Hour, Persona, The Kirijo, and her mother. While she loves her father, she couldn't realize that maybe she bears a certain hatred for him as well. Maybe she was disappointed that in her father last moment, he didn't mention her. Maybe she subconsciously hates him for leaving she and her mother. While it does not justify her action, it is understandable
"You know, I once considered this ability to see demons a curse too" he started, drawing Yukari's attention "Well, I still do, but not as much as I used to. I was taken away from my sister because of it, I was force to kill because of it, and I was betrayed because of it. I have seen a village trying to burn a child alive because she can see demon. I have seen parents threw their kids out because they were afraid. I have seen friends abandon each other because of it. Those who sought to control me call it a gift, but I know better" he let out a long breath as he started to remember bad memories "This Dark Hour is just the same to you as the demons to me. They took away our happiness, forcing us into doing thing that we're afraid of, forcing us to become something we don't want to. But the thing is Yukari, life is not fair! Life was not fair for me when I was born without a mother of a father! Life was not fair for you when your father left your mother and you that day! Life was not fair for me when I was taken away from my sister at the age of 3 and force to kill to live! Live was not fair for you when your mother started to date other men and abandon you! Life was not fair for me when the only person I loved in the world was killed! And life was not fair for you when those people kept saying things that they don't know and understand, when they kept accusing you with lies and insult! But you know what Yukari, even if life is not fair, even if life keep beating you down, keep trying to break you, you must stand strong!
I don't understand you, Yukari, and I won't even pretend that I understand you. But arrogantly, I want you to look at me. I had lost many things for the last 20 years. Loves, dream, hope, friends and family. I can't even keep count how many time I collapsed on the street, cursed myself and my uselessness, and cried. But Yukari, you're still young, and you must not become someone like me. I did my research. I know what you suffered. Those words hurt more than any beating, doesn't it? But you must always find a light in this never-ending darkness of life, Yukari. Think differently, learn to love instead of hate, save yourself, Yukari. Because you're the only one who is capable of doing that! Time heal all, Yukari, but only if you try! I swear to you now, Yukari, I will find out the truth about your dad for you, if you promise me that you would think about my words"
She was speechless the whole time. Shinkai smiled and picked up the dished and headed for the kitchen. After washing up all the dishes and cooking equipment, he turned to Yukari and smiled as he said a few last words "Do it like I do. Think yourself as a hero, think that you're saving the people around you. And when you see the smile of the people knowing that you were the one who saved them all, you'll might be able to smile, a little bit" he then headed upstairs for his room
"What was that?" she finally able to find hear voice again after a while. Seeing that all the dishes had been washed, she walked toward the stair and to her room, with his words kept echoing in her head
Shinkai smiled wearily as Yomi, Fuuka and Ginko stood judgingly in front of him. Their eyes were scary, which is must be quite scary because Shinkai have seen death in the eyes before. He was sitting seiza position while holding a bucket full of water over his head
"Why didn't you tell me?" Yomi was the first to ask, her voice as cold as Margaret's "Do you have any ideas how much I worried about you?
"Why did you lie?" Kuroko had taken Ginko place and stared at him coldly "Do you know how hurt Ginko is? And she intends to forgive you again!"
"Why did you say it would be ok?" Fuuka said timidly, and teary "If I had known, I would have trained harder and help you"
"Shinkai-san is in trouble~~~!" Junpei whispered to Minato from behind. Unfortunately for him, Shinkai heard it and he was given 'the stare'
"Focus here!" Yomi grabbed his cheeks and turned his face to hers "I am going to forgive you this time. But it will not be for free…" Yomi claws started growing longer "From now on, Whatever you do, you either take me with you or report back to me, ok?"
"Y-Y-Yes…" he whimpered
"I am also going to forgive you this time…" but she then drew her sword and put it near his neck "If you kept your head on the ground and ask for Ginko's forgiveness and promise her not to ever lie to her again. If you protest, I'll inform the Crows of your location"
"Y-Y-Yes…" he planted his head onto the ground
"I-I forgive you too" Fuuka said timidly "I just want you to trust me more. And I want extra training so I can be of use to you"
"FUUKA!" he was crying out of guilt for not letting her know his plan, she is just too damn cute
"Look like that settle" Akihiko smiled at the scene when his stomach, and some other's as well, growled loudly "Now can anyone go and make dinner, please?"
"I'm on it" Minako said as she put on an apron "Oh, look! Someone already cooked some rice!"
As to celebrate Shinkai's return, they all decided to go to Tartarus after 2 weeks. As they were leaving the dorm, Shinkai tapped Mitsuru's shoulder "Do you have a minute? Come with me!" he signaled the group to go on ahead and ensured Yomi by pointing at Mitsuru. They went around the dorm where Mitsuru's bike is "What I am about to show you, you must not report back to Ikutsuki Shuji, ok?"
"Why?" She asked with her usual stern voice, demanding an explanation before agreeing to anything
"Because…" He drew his gun which made her body tense a bit and her eyebrows furrowed. But then he proceeded to shoot her bike "Come out, Come out, I know who you are! If you don't come out, I'm just going to keep shooting you until you need a new armor, which we all know you don't have the privilege!"
She was going to ask him to stop when her bike started to… transform. There stood before her now is a… man. He has jet-black hair that covered his forehead, reddish purple eyes, a pretty healthy skin complex and a handsome face, though it was frowning. His body is extremely bulky, with limbs made of grey motorcycle parts, just like when he was the Motorcycle. Several of his limbs are marked with the number 'R-00'. The man stood tall in front of her and Shinkai, frowning upon him
"How did you know?" his way of speaking was kind of, old fashion, but comparing to Aigis's robotic speaking, it sounds much more human-like
"Well, my friend, Aoi Touko, told me about you" for some reason when he heard the name, the android narrowed his eyes
"What did you do to her?" his voice was demanding and angry
"Nothing, she is my friend! Didn't you hear what I said?" he sighed, maybe he shouldn't have touch this robot, one is more than enough "Anyway… Why are you still looking at me like that? I told you already, she is my friend! We have known each other for nearly 17 years now! Do you need me to call you her for you?"
"No need, she is properly sleeping right now, I don't want to bother her!" he said sternly, but it sounded very considerable "It just I have never heard about you from her"
"I haven't even told you my name yet!" Shinkai huffed "My name is Shinkai Taichou, Detective Shinkai Taichou. Well, formal now."
"Why?" he narrowed his eyes again, does he had a lie detector in those eyes of his?
"Well, it is kinda hard to go to work when everyone around you believe that you're sleeping with the fishes" he smiled "Little did they know, I can swim"
"I would hate to break your little banter but could any of you tell me what is going on?" Mitsuru butted in after a while. Shinkai and the android both looked at Mitsuru, then at each other, then at Mitsuru again "Well?"
"Well, from what I know, he is a ASSW, the last generation which was designed and built without the knowledge of Shuji Ikutsuki and your grandfather. Your father knows this and send him as some kind of supervisor for you" he threw a thumb up at her while smiled silly-ly
"My name is Sousei Kurogami, or better known as 'Genesis', code name 'R-00'. I was the last generation of the line of Anti-Shadow Suppressing Weapon, designed and developed without the knowledge of Ikutsuki Shuji and Kouetsu Kirijo. I was sent by your father, Takeharu Kirijo, as a failsafe and a supervisor by you father when you first decided to form S.E.E.S" Sousei did the same thumb up, but with a plainer voice like he was actually explaining something and a deadpan face
"How about that?" Shinkai said excitedly "My deduction is right again!"
"As expected of a detective!" Sousei nodded his head "Maybe you are the deadpan detective in Touko's story?"
"That would be me!" he smiled while patting Sousei on the back "So she did tell you about me! I was a lot different back then!"
"Yes she did, but she never use the name" Sousei scratched his head, don't know how to respond properly to Shinkai's back pat "But she did…"
"Sorry, but I have a question?" She cut in before the conversation can proceed any further "Why did you lead me here?"
"Well, I thought that you deserve to know the true" Shinkai said honestly "And because I don't trust Ikutsuki one bit, I want you, the second person with power around here, to know about him! And the less people know about him, the easier it is to hide him from Ikutsuki!"
"I was sent here by Takeharu Kirijo because he does not trust Ikutsuki Shuji. Ikutsuki Shuji was one of the researcher that used to work with your grandfather. Your father afraid that Ikutsuki might still be up to no good and sent me here to keep watch over him"
"They said 'Great minds think alive', huh?" Shinkai laughed and patted Sousei on the back again "So what is your thought on Ikutsuki?"
"Judging by his face, I am 5% sure that he is not a good person" Sousei said sternly "His eyes are of those who is untrustworthy! Also, his puns are not good!"
"Right? He is like, very evil with that eyes of his" Shinkai patted him on the back again "And his puns…"
"Sorry again for breaking your intimate moment, but we have to move since the Dark Hour is able to begin" Mitsuru butted in again "I will talk to Father latter able this, and because I trust your words, I won't report this to the Chairman. Sousei! Can you turn back to the motorcycle?"
"Yes, ma'am!" he said plainly as he started turning back into the familiar motorcycle again, but he can still talk "Do I need a special code to transform back to human form? Like a secret code between us?"
"Yeah! Only transform to human form when you heard the code 'Genesis'! How about that?" Shinkai suggested
"I like that code!" he replied in his motorcycle form. Mitsuru then cut in again as she mounted him and started riding toward school, Shinkai quickly followed
Nothing special happen the next few days as the group simply going to Tartarus every 2 nights. Shinkai tried and spent more time with Yomi like he promised and gave Fuuka new training exercise, mainly recalling demons and help her gain new demons. He did drop by the Velvet Room to apologize to Margaret, who only huffed but eventually apologized back. They have a nice cup of tea together afterward.
"It's too hot!" Shinkai moaned as he literally bathing in the sun heat. Suddenly, he had an idea! He took out a piece of paper and stuck it on himself and started chanting some spell. Cold air started emitting from the piece of paper as he moaned satisfyingly. With the heat out of the way, he walked happily toward his intended destination when he saw Junpei standing in the heat, looking at a girl. The girl had red hair, and her outfit resemble a gothic Lolita one, but in white. Her hand was attached to a chain, to an axe… Well, self-defend, he supposed. The way Junpei was looking at her, Shinkai would say he is either love struck or heat struck. The girl was painting something, though shinkai can't really what worth painting in this lot. She then turned toward Junpei and said something, which he replied and stepped away further. After that, he looked at her a few more time before leaving. So Shinkai, being a good friend, thought that he could help Junpei in some way. The boy has been so devastated the past few days, and Shinkai knows that it might be because of him, and maybe Minato too. So to atone his sin, he is going to hook Junpei with this girl. He started to make a plan in his head. First, he will befriend her. Then, he will find a way to talk about a friend, good things. Then he introduces the 'friend' to her. Then they felt in love and, voila, Junpei would be happy all over again. Smiling deviously, he got his plan into action
"What are you drawing?" he approached her with a friendly and innocent face
"It's none of your business!" she said aggressively "Now move out of the way!"
She was way more aggressive than he thought. But nevertheless, he sat down next to her and looked at her art like an asshole. He would hardly call it art, more like a bunch of black and red scribbles and circles that made up nothing. He then looked at what she drawing. It was a flower, a dying flower
"Why draw a dying flower when you could draw a blooming one?" he asked out of curiosity as he picked up a flower from behind them, a red flower "Don't you want to draw this flower instead?"
"You're still here?" she hissed at him, but seeing that he had no intention to move anytime soon, she just ignored him and continued drawing "Beside, all things eventually die. What is the point of drawing a blooming flower when it will die eventually"
"That is an extreme thought!" Shinkai said as he plunged the flower back into the bed "and kind of swallow one! But with just a little water, that flower will be blooming again, then your painting will not be accurate anymore, right?"
"Why are you still here?" she asked again, this time sounded like she was very annoyed and wish to be alone "The flower will die eventually, it does not matter if it live for a few more day, it will die… just like we will"
"There is this one phrase in Latin, it said 'Memento Mori'" Shinkai got in his 'philosophy' mode "It means that 'remember your death', because we are all human, we will die one day. We may live our live however we want, but we must not forget that only death awaits us at the end of the road. But, you know what? There is another phrase, it is 'Carpe Diem', or the full sentence is 'Carpe Diem, quam minium credula postero'. It means 'Seized the day, trusting as little as possible in the next'. You live in today, not tomorrow. Those 2 phrases are like 2 sizes of a same coin, and you can't have one without another. You must remember that death is inevitable, but you must not dwell in it. For that is tomorrow, and you're still living today. Just like that flower, maybe tomorrow it will die, but today it lives, that what matters."
"Why are you being so philosophical all of a sudden?" she looked at him weirdly
"Because you can do this" he took out a bottle of water and walked toward the flower, before dumping an entire bottle on it "Now it will live"
"It will die" she narrowed her eyes as he sat down next to her again
"Does it matter? For today, it will live, and for today, I will draw it" he took out a piece of paper and a pencil and start scribbling "It may die tomorrow, but tomorrow, it will also continue to live in my memory, in my heart, and in my drawing" he then turned the paper toward her. The painting was extremely detail, although it was drawn with pencil "Keep it! Think of it as a gift!"
She took the drawing with one hand and was about to say something when Shinkai's phone rang. He let go of the drawing with a smile and excused her to pick up the phone
"Hello?"
"Shin-niisan!" the voice literally yelled his eardrums out. He recognized the voice
"Rise? How did you get my phone number?" that is the first question that came into his mind. He has many phones and many numbers, and none of them are easy to get
"I got home a few days back and I visited Tatsumi-san. She gave me your phone number" Maybe he shouldn't have given it to her. It was for the Yukata that she was making at that time. He thought that she might need in case of whatever might happen "She also tell me that you're currently staying in Tatsumi Port Island, right?"
"Yeah? What about it?" he tried to recall why she would ask that question
"Well, at the start of September, I'll have a concert there!" Now he remembered "Do you know a place called Club Escapade?"
"I go there all the time" he did overhear some guys talking about Risette a few days back "Do you want me to meet you there?"
"Yes! In fact, I want to give you a premium pass too. With it, you can meet me in the backstage" she said excitedly "What is your address? I'll send one to you right away!"
"No need for that, Rise! I sure I can manage!" He declined. Not like anyone can stop him. There was silence for a moment from his side "Rise!" the voice on the other side stopped with a 'huh?' "I know this is your first official concert since your debut and I just want to say… congratulation! I'll be sure to be there to cheer you on!"
"Thank you!" the voice has lost her energetic tone from before "It will mean a lot to me!"
"If that's it, then I have to hang up now, I have business to attend!"
"Yeah… See you!" Shinkai chuckled as he hung up the phone and look back. The girl had left already and it seemed she took his drawing with her. Let out a smile, Shinkai continued toward his intended destination as the sky started to turn orange.
"It is unusual for you to call me here" he took a seat next to her. They were sitting in Chagall Café in Paulownia Mall. She looked kind of depress "We usually talk online, why do you want to meet me today?"
"I confessed" she muttered under her breath and turned away
"You did WHAT?" Shinkai was a bit shock by the revelation
"I CONFESSED" she said it louder this time, drawing the attention of other people in the coffee. But they quickly look away upon meeting Shinkai's eyes
"Yeah I hear you the first time, but I wonder you did such a thing?" he sighed upon his friend idiocy, and she supposes to be a teacher
"I don't know, it was the heat of the moment, and I was desperate" she continued to mutter under her breath "I guess the feeling of two people never going to see each other again kinda… nice?"
"So you just went with the moment and confess?" he facepalmed "When did this happen? I mean, you didn't say anything like that before you log off"
"I drew in it the sand in the beach in region 2!" she confessed timidly "I asked him to look for it once you and I both log off"
"What are you, a teenager girl?" he yelled out of frustration, he then rubbed his nose bridge with a sigh "Then for your own good, I think I should not tell you who 'tatsuya' really is"
"What? You know who he is?" She turned at him with surprise in her eyes
"Of course, we had an offline not too long ago. An offline you couldn't make it, remember?" he remembered the awkward moment when he discovered who 'tatsuya' is
"ARRGEE, curse you, summer school!" she hugged her head as she cursed her job. Seriously, how old is she? "So who is he?"
"I just told you, for your own good, I will not tell you who he is!" Shinkai made a stern face, the kind of face a mother made when her kid asks for candy even though he had cavity
"Please!" She clung onto him as she begged "I need to know who he is! I need to delete that embarrassing moment from his memories! I can't live with it!"
"You did it and now you regret it?" Shinkai put on his judging face
"It just that… he changed my life, you know?" she let go of him and sat straight again
"I know, it was team chat" he said with a deadpan
"And I just want to know who my savior is…" she then turned to him with her puppy eyes "Please?"
"I don't want to know, I promise you that!" he tried to look away when she grabbed his cheek and forced him to look at her eyes "No!" he kept his stern face "No…" his façade slowly melt "I don't want to…" her eyes are just so pathetic, he couldn't resist "Ok…"
"Yay!" she let go of his face and smiled victorious "So who is he?"
"You are so going to regret this!" he sighed "It's Minato!"
"Who?" She tilted her head while looking at him confusingly
"Minato Arisato? Class 2-F, Gekkoukan High? Your student?" he smirked as he said "Ringing any bells?
Her face started to turn from a smile to a very big frown and she took his hand and placed it on her head "Can you slammed my head against this table as hard as you can so I can forget about that?"
"No, but I can offer you a cheek pinch so that you know you're not dream" he smirked and moved his hand toward her left cheek, and pinched it hard "How about that?"
She had one hand on her cheek and one hand on her forehead, rubbing it "How can this be?"
"I told you you would regret it!" he said as he casually sipped on his coffee
"How am I supposed to face him now?" she started to slip into a spiral of despair
"Well, it's not like he knows who 'maya' is anyway" Shinkai sighed and comfort his friend "So as long as you be careful, thing won't be awkward"
"I mean, he is a teenager, just the way I like it" Shinkai sighed at his friend fetish "But why does he had to be a student? My student?"
"Oh, cheer up" Shinkai patted her on the back "You can wait, right?"
"He is really popular in school, girls flocking over him all the time" she said in despair "How am I supposed to compete against them?"
"Cheer up, I'll order some cake for you" he signal the waiter for order "What do you want?"
"I'm so depress I can even eat a Mont Blanc!" she literally lying on the table now "But maybe strawberry cake for a heartbroken person"
"Yeah, you heard her!" the waiter nodded and wrote down the order "and an egg tart, please!"
"I got it!" she suddenly jerked up "I'm just going to be very strict on him while trying to occupy all his time so that girls can't get close to him!"
"Good luck on that" he said boringly "I hope your plan work for more than a week"
"It will work, I'm telling you!" she slammed her hand down the table excitedly "1 year and a half, it shouldn't be too hard"
"I won't be so sure about that" he sighed at the scene "Look, the waiter is here! Than…"
Shinkai stopped in midsentence with a shock face, Toriumi had the same face as well. The waiter that was carrying food for them was none other than Minato, who was also had a surprise face "Shinkai-san and Sensei? What are you doing here?"
"Forget about us, what are you doing here?" Toriumi asked in panic
"It's summer so I decided to have a part time job to have some side earning, is that not okay?" he tilted his head as he said. His face goes kinda well with the shop uniform, it made him kinda cute. For some reason, Toriumi's face turned bright red upon seeing that and she lost her ability to talk "Are you two dating?". Apparently, Toriumi was so shocked by the idea of dating Shinkai she lost her ability to talk again, so Shinkai took over
"She just has some problems that need to be solve so she called me, that's all!" he defused the situation beforehand first while Toriumi was still in shock "How long have you been here?"
"Oh, my shift had just started about 4 minutes ago, so not that long" he then placed the cakes down "Is there anything wrong?"
"N-No, it's nothing! I think you should return to work, there's someone want to order over there!" Shinkai pointed at a couple behind him
"Oh! Okay!" Minato looked at him confusingly but left nonetheless, leaving the detective with his teacher alone
"Well now, I have things to do so I bid you farewell now!" he stood up and started walking toward the door, but not before tapping Toriumi on the shoulder "When he is not in school, he is not a student"
Toriumi looked at him like a savior with teary eyes and a face full of determination. He just chuckled lightly and left the café
Shinji stood silently as he looked at the moon, there was something about the moon that capture his eyes. Maybe he was so use to see it in yellow so he can no longer look at a white moon with the same feeling. It had been 2 weeks already since he joined S.E.E.S again and he barely made any progress. Neither on the boy nor on Miki. October the 4th came closer every minute, and he wish to do something before it arrive
"… Don't! I tell you, he's no good!" a voice can be heard from behind him, from behind the door that lead to the dorm, where everyone is "Alright! But if he moved a muscle, I'll come right out, ok?"
"Ok, Kuroko!" the voice remained the same, but the tone changed, and soon, the door open. Behind him stood his friend Miki, or his old friend, with her usual deadpan. He doesn't know why, but seeing her turning from an outgoing girl to an introvert, emotionless girl made him sad. Miki didn't say a thing and only stepped up next to him, and looked at the moon with him "It is beautiful, isn't it? It has been so long since I last looked at the moon like this!"
Shinji didn't answer her and continued to looked at the moon which made she pouted a bit. She then muttered to herself "it's ok! He's just shy! No need for that!"
"Does she still hate me?" Shinji turned to Miki who was talking to Kuroko in her head
"Yeah… She said that you are a scum" Miki said apologetically "Sorry for the word, but she thinks that I shouldn't be near you, or you might hurt me"
"Well she right!" Shinji narrowed his eyes bitterly
"No, no. I don't think so" Miki quickly waved her hands "She just a little bit too overprotective!"
"A little bit too overprotective? That sound contradicting" Shinji chuckled lightly
"Well contradict this, you…" Kuroko jumped out but then Miki took the control of the body again "Sorry about that, she dislikes being tease, or seeing me being tease. She once beat up a girl in school because she called me weird"
"That a bit extreme" Shinji said with surprise "So you always hear her in your head?"
"Yes, she was my only friend ever since I was a child!" Miki said excitedly, looked like she is really fond of her other half "other people might consider her as rude, but I think that she is very sweet and friendly, she just gets a little touchy when it comes to me!"
"Well other people might be right!" Shinji remarked which Miki immediately had to calm Kuroko down "Why are you here? Isn't Aki inside right now?"
"Yes, they are singing Karaoke. Shinkai-san brought it back from the temple a moment ago" That explained the noise thought Shinji "I was going to ask you to join us, but I got distracted"
"I would say no" he answered plainly "I'm not fond of those activities!"
"Ok!" she nodded and started scribbling in her notebook
"What are you doing?" Shinji asked with a raised eyebrow as he looked at what she was writing. Inside her notebook are full of note on him, on Akihiko, and on other people in the dorm. It said that he loves animal and loves taking care of them, and it also said that he loves cooking! When did she spy on him?
"I'm taking note about you" she answered innocently "Shinkai-san once told me that the best way to befriend someone is to know everything about them, so it become my habit to take note of people I want to befriend"
"You want to befriend me?" he asked with surprise while pointing at himself, which she replied with a nod "I thought you hate me"
"I don't hate anyone! It's Kuroko that hate people that might do me harm!" she then put her notepad back into her pocket and took one of Shinji's hand and held it lightly, which made him blush a bit "I always want to befriend you ever since you said you know me from before. I want to know about myself too, so I hope us being friend can help me remember something"
"A-Alright!" he jerked his hand back, his face was a bit red and his movements started to get awkward "Just do what you want!"
"Yay!" She did a low and super cute Yay as she threw her hands up lazily "So you don't mind we talk sometime about it?"
"N-No…" Shinji was struck so strong by her cuteness, he stuttered. Although her deadpan expression does not change, she was clearly happy about it
"Well then, how about tomorrow?" She pulled out her notepad and started to make schedule. She looked so excitedly he couldn't decline. She nodded her hand and put the notepad away, before held both of his hands again and shook it "I'm looking forward to it!"
"O-Ok" He stuttered again when he noticed how soft her hands actually are. He didn't notice it the first time. Suddenly, the hands grabbed even harder to a point where it might hurt, so he looked up. In front of him is Kuroko, with veins popping out of her forehead and fire in her eyes, her hairs were floating and the air around her was extremely tense. Despite all that, she still had a smile on her face
"Thank you!" Something told him that that was not gratitude "For being her friends!" her hands squeaked even harder "This girl maybe a little obvious when it comes to affection like her brother, but I'm not! And I know what boys at your age think when they look at her, and I will never allow it!" Now the smile looked even more of a threat "So if the thought of making any… moves came across in one of your 'dates', just be well to remember that I'm still here, and I know how to dispose a body with magic. So unless you want to become… something else, you keep it in your pants and your hands where they are supposed to be, well away from her, ok?"
Before he can answer anything, her eyes turned back to normal and her hair turned back to silver. She looked at him confusingly "What did she tell you?"
"Y-You didn't hear?" He asked with confused as sweat starting rolling down his face
"Kuroko and I had an agreement. Each of us have our own secret so when one of us ask the other one to stop listening, the other one must complied" She answered, still have her head tilted "So? What did she tell you?"
"She…" Shinji was going to said something when Kuroko appeared again and put a finger by her lips and another finger stroke across her neck, then Miki come out again "Nothing! She just asked me to treat you well!"
"Oh! Thank you! Both of you!" She 'smiled' lightly, both inside and outside. Then they can hear Akihiko screaming for Miki so she quickly headed inside, but gave Shinji a thumb up and a wink before heading inside. Shinji, who finally got his peace, sighed and looked toward the moon, where his eyes widen greatly. Floating there, in the air, was Shinkai with his smirk. Before Shinkai can say anything, Shinji walked quickly through the door and slammed it.
Omake
Old life (Part 1)
"How was life like back in Tokyo?" Minato asked as they ate out together "You used to live there, right?"
"Yeah? Why do you ask?" Shinkai answered confusingly
"Just curios!" he shrugged
"Well, it was nice" Shinkai answered honestly, but seeing that that answer does not satisfy Minato, he narrowed his eyes as he started to think "How about I told you a story so you can have a clearer picture"
7 years ago
2002
"ARRGGEEE! That hurt way more than it should!" Shinkai groaned as he was hit by a very big ice shard from a freaking dragon. Seeing another coming at him, he quickly ducked under a piece of rubbish. It was a peaceful day when a dragon, namely Seiryu, decided that he want human meat and attack a park. So Shinkai, who was having his peaceful Sunday in Inaba, had to rush back to Tokyo and to the park as soon as he heard of the dragon descence. Luckily, he called for backup who arrived just in time to evacuate the people so that he can battle the dragon freely
"Why must dragon be so violent? Why can't they just be cute little girls?" he said frustratingly when he felt something, or someone, tugging his jacket. Looking down next to him, he found a cute little girl with… gray hair. She was holding another girl on her hands. Shinkai blinked for a few times, then he peaked his head up to see that the dragon is still there, then he looked back at the girl. He shook his head a few times while rubbing his eyes a few times. He opened his eyes again, and the girl is still there, though she is now frowning
"I'm real" she seemed to get the situation quick
"No, I know you're real, I'm just wondering what the hell are you doing here?" he said with his usual deadpan "Doesn't matter now, what is your name, little girl?"
"Mama and Papa taught me not to tell stranger my name!" she said while putting on a tough face
"Well, aren't you a smart girl?" he said with his mocking tone. Suddenly, a piece of rubbish was blown off by an ice shard "Damnit, Shinkai! Now is not a time for your smart mouth!" he cursed himself and looked at the girl again while showing her his police badge "Look little lady, I'm a police officer. A special one. The one that fight monster like that lizard over there. Now may I have the honor to know your name?"
"Ok!" she can read, thanks god "My name is Sae Niijima, I'm 10 years old, I'm currently a student at Shujin Elementary School" Shinkai nodded in followed as another piece of the rubbish got blasted off "This is my sister, Makoto Niijima, she is… 4 years old." The little girl bowed timidly as her sister introduced her "My father name is…"
"Ok! That's enough!" he said as he patted her on the shoulder, signaling her to stop as a big chunk of the rubbish was blasted off "Now, Sae, I need you to do exactly what I say, okay? Do you see that tree over there?" he pointed at the tree just right behind them and she nodded "Now, when I signal you, you took your sister and ran toward that direction, ok? Just run, ok?"
"Ok" she said with her cute stern voice. Shinkai patted her on the head and brought out his gun again
"When I said the word, run, ok?" He then pulled down the hammer and stood straight up, shooting several shots at the dragon "NOW, SAE!" the moment the word left his lips, the girl started to run while Shinkai provide backup
"I won't let you got away! Children tasted the best!" the dragon roar as he shot several shots toward the running girls. Shinkai drew his sword and was able to deflect all of the shards, spare for the one that actually hit him pretty hard. He winced a bit but stood straight as he summoned Mokoi to aid him. The demon threw his boomerang at the dragon, dazed it as the boomerang hit. Shinkai took that opportunity and attack. He was able to cut one of the dragon's legs off but he was flung away be its tail. He landed right next to running girl, who was slowly losing her speed due to fatigue. Pushed himself up and flexed his muscles a bit more. He picked up the tired girl and started running
"Tell me how to avoid the ice shards, ok?" he said with a smile as they ran and the dragon right behind him. Peaking her head aside, she saw several ice shards coming at them
"Left!" Shinkai quickly dodged to the left and was hit by all of the ice shards "My left!"
"A little too late, don't you think!" he said bitterly as he picked himself up and ran again. Another volley of ice shard started flying at him
"My right!" he quickly jumped to the left, evade all but one that hit him in the head, causing him to bleed a bit "I'm sorry!"
"Don't worry! You did well! The shield just wore itself out!" he smiled reassuringly while his head dripping blood. The continued to run until Shinkai finally found his way out. At the edge of the park, his team was waiting for him with all of the evacuated civilians. He put the two girls down "Go and find your parent, ok?" he then turned to his team, who had weapon ready for the monster, now stuck in broad field "FIRE!"
The guns started to fire at the Dragon. After a minute, the dragon was no more for there is just a field filled with holes
"That's it people, crisis advert!" he clapped his hands, applauding his team for their good work "Now gather up the civilian so we can get on with the process"
A few moment later, all of the civilian was gathered in front of Shinkai, who was standing on the bench with a lady next to him "Alright, do your magic!"
"It's Sunday, you own me a day off" she said annoyingly as she held her hand forward and started to channel something up a pink light. The light then spread out all over the civilians "There! I'm heading home now!"
"Ok! Love ya!" he spitted something out of his mouth as he bid her off, all of his team did the same. He then turned toward the hypnotized civilians "Alright people, you might not believe this, but a wrecking ball from a near construction site got a little loose and got flung all the way to here. It wrecked this beautiful park and we, the people of the government, are here to repair it" as he said, his team started putting up fence around the area "Now, you all have something to do at home, and you need to rush home right away. Now when I snapped my fingers, you will wake up, and the whole dragon things didn't happen, ok?" he snapped his finger and the people started to move again. All looked confused while scratching their heads as the left the area. Let out a sigh, Shinkai got off the bench and approached on of the guys "Sorry to call you here even on your days off!"
"Nevermind that! These demons never rest, right?" the guys smiled back, patted him on the shoulder "Beside, you did all the work, right? You should get some rest, leave the rest to us!"
He smiled in gratitude when he felt a tug on his pants. Looking down, he saw the familiar girl and her sister clinging onto his pants "I can't find Mama and Papa!" her eyes was teary, like she was able to cry. Shinkai froze up for a moment, when he felt a pat on his shoulder
"Good luck, boss!" the same man gave him a smile and a thumb up. Cursed you! Shinkai yelled mentally while staring at the man as he left with the other. The girl tugged his pants again, her face indicated that she was at the brink of crying. Shinkai sighed and kneeled down to her and patted her on the head
"Let's go find your parents" he smiled warmly. The girl immediately looked happier as she nodded as well "Just a quick question, where were you when I gather up everyone?"
"Behind you! I was scared when I couldn't find my Mama and Papa so I was going to ask you, but I saw that you were busy so I waited" he cursed himself for being so careless, but then, it properly for the best. If that hadn't happened, he had just sent 2 young girls home, all alone, defenseless and god know if them would be able to actually make it "So is it real that a wrecking ball got loose and landed here?"
"Le-Let's just go" he sighed as he rubbed his forehead in distress. The girl nodded and took his hand while he offered to let her sister sit on his shoulder.
2009
"And then what next?" Minato asked anticipatingly
"Well, I'll continued it another day. Look like we're overstaying our welcome" Shinkai said as he pointed at the people at the door. They quickly checked out and returned to the dorm
I've changed a few minor things in some previous chapters for the plot, like in chapter 1, i've changed "my familiar' to 'my demon', 'money' to 'gems'. Chapter 5, 'my old sword' to 'standard Raidou sword' and etc. it is minor, but necessary. I sure hope you like the story