#13 Keyword
The girl often time travelling in a dream. A dream from 6 years ago. An extremely nostalgic and strange dream.
I'd forgotten about it for a very long time, but I finally remembered what it was recently. Ever since I came here, that memory would come back in my dream.
Every time she returned to the arms of Morpheus, she saw a very young little child who was still lump of curiosity. When she was still an immature larva protected by a cocoon.
Once, out of boredom, I secretly went out of the house when both of my parents weren't at home. They rarely came back home so it didn't really change anything.
For a girl who led a sheltered life, the outside world was really bright and turbulent.
Fortunately, I had the map and building structures memorized so other than confusion, I didn't have any difficulty to find places I wanted to observe.
She got to see what she had only seen on the map. For a young girl, it was more than enough for her to see everything in real life through her own eyes.
Now, I think that if I didn't invite myself into the world of Kings and Jungle, I might remain the same as who I was about this time.
Nothing special really happened during the whole tour, until she bumped into an unknown individual on the way.
It was just a coincidence. I was in a trance of thinking and analyzing all the places that I had observed and forgot my surroundings. I bumped into the man and he helped me to stand up. It was a common flow.
Though, when she settled down, she felt something out of place.
When my eyes followed the line of those legs up to the face, I noticed this man wore traditional style clothing. Light purple kimono and a navy blue hakama, and a red umbrella on his hand. It was pretty rare for someone living in this city to don traditional style at this age. Though, that wasn't the only thing that bothered me.
Children are unexpectedly sharp, even if it is out of instinct.
There was an unnatural atmosphere from this man. Too young to be called young man but too old to be called old man. There was something unworldly that the past me of back then didn't know how to express.
Children are honest so they generally speak their own thoughts without hesitation.
"What are you?"
Normally, a person would ask for the other person's in the form of 'who' but, my question emphasized 'what'. I didn't know why but, instead of name, I was bothered by what kind of person this man was.
Hearing an abrupt question, the man replied without a single trace of agitation.
"A traveler who comes here for a certain purpose."
There was no hint of lie from his smile. Despite being a child, she learned to spot a liar through facial muscles that leaked a person's true feelings. She couldn't find anything from that smile.
"And you? Is there a reason why a little girl like you wandering around here?"
"I want to see the city so I run away from home temporarily."
An immediate reply. Yet, she did not aware that her use of vocabulary was not something a 9 years old child would use.
For some reasons, my answer earned a chuckle from this man. Why? And, why he did pat my head?
"Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. Sometimes, it would also be better to take that recklessness of yours into consideration."
That proverb. Now that I think about it, it wasn't a warning but an omen. It felt as if that the man had seen through my true nature. Similar to how Nagare-san did.
However, at that moment, she did not anticipate that this dream was the bridge that connected to her present.
In front of these two, there were clansmen of Homra and Scepter 4, and the Red King. Each clan on the left and right side respectively. Since Sukuna wasn't here, Shinatsu guessed that the boy was in the middle of fighting against the Silver King and his clansmen downstairs.
"So? We'll fight against them following this flow, Yukari-san?"
"At least, this battle is going to have more elegance than facing those boring traps." Hearing the snort of the purple-haired man, Shinatsu returned with a nod.
It felt a bit weird to have the same opinion as this effeminate man but she had to agree. Even though the enemies were in front of them, there wasn't a trace of nervousness and these two still continued their trivial conversation.
"Your hair and coat are slightly drenched. Did you get splashed by one of the traps?"
"I didn't like it but unfortunately, that was unavoidable."
"Hey! You guys seem to be composure despite being in the enemy camp!" The conversation got cut off by none other than the short-tempered HOMRA's vanguard, Yata Misaki.
Changing their focus back to the enemies, Shinatsu opened her mouth.
"Based on this situation, we did move according to your plan, right?" She tilted on her head to the side to express confusion, but her eyes betrayed it. As usual, her deadpan face displayed a lack of emotion while her eyes displayed amusement.
"Well, we did expect for this at a certain degree." The left side of Yukari's glossy lips tugged upwards creating a smirk on his face.
Their attitudes were more than enough to infuriate the enemies. However, again, it seemed that this argument wouldn't last long too since the time given for them were limited.
And, the mood was already ruined when the whole building of Mihashira Tower started to sway but it suddenly stopped after one second. Though, the vibration was enough to surprise Scepter 4 and HOMRA.
"Oh my…Here already?"
Yukari's words were loud enough to catch their attention.
"Speak of devil…" Following by Shinatsu words, Awashima was the first person to react to their words and seemed to have understand the meaning behind it.
"You don't mean…" Her sentence did not finish till the end but, inside her thought, it was something that they all did expect to happen but the timing was off.
In response, the man's head turned 45 degrees to the woman and finished her sentence. "Yes, that's right. He's coming." The little rise in the corner of his mouth was enough to answer their question.
"He already started to race from the starting line." Her aqua-blue colored eyes blinked. "Staying here will be a waste of time."
"What?!" Someone from the enemy troop let out a groan in irritation because of her words.
However, at this moment, such thing did not matter to these two and their 'melancholy' have not also ended yet.
Yukari raised both of his hands to the air, whining like a little rich girl. "How unfortunate~ Truly unfortunate!"
Hearing that alone already added fuel to the fire, but the swordsman's speech did not stop there.
"Just when things were starting to get exciting…" A bitter smile crawled across Yukari's lips but it soon switched to the usual smirk. "But now it's all over."
They didn't expect Nagare-san to make his move already. As expected, he isn't a type to be waiting for us until we reach to the top after all.
"Hey, what's wrong with you guys! Quit acting like cowards!" Yata yelled to his allies and Scepter 4 before turning his enraged eyes at the two clansmen of Jungle. "So, what if it's a King or clansmen? Who the hell cares! We'll just crush anyone who comes at us! Show some spirit"
This type of person is usually a type who does not know how to read the mood was what Shinatsu thought. Though, it made Yukari feel amused.
"Oh, I like this boy's enthusiasm. But, the reason why I said 'unfortunate' was-" He suddenly tightened his grip on Ayamachi and swung the sword 180 degrees, and a circle formed on the area they were standing at. The circle elegantly cracked from the floor and descended to the bottom.
"Our parts will end from here."
"See you again." She muttered to herself while waving her hands as a farewell message to the enemies. In the next moment, they arrived to the floor where Sukuna was and landed between him and Kuroh.
"The sun is setting. Those who chose to leave their homes."
"Ah, time is up so your match will be postponed." Interpreting the poem, her eyes made contact with Sukuna's eyes. "Sukuna, it's time to change players."
"What?!" The boy's one eyebrows arched which formed a grimace on his face with his mouth fell open. Not that these two cared as they already knew he would make that reaction. Did he even pay attention to the vibration?
"Yukari! Shinatsu! Who said you two could interrupt?!" He crowded angrily to the two but, the man who was standing beside her only focused on Kuroh.
"Kuroh-chan. I see being reunited with the Silver King has made you even more handsome than ever." He complimented the black-haired man and continued. "Understandable, since using the sword to protect your King is what defines your nature."
Ignoring the compliment, the said young man asked. "Are you here to assist your comrade? Mishakuji Yukari. Kazahinomi Shinatsu?"
"That's playing dirty!"
Knowing Sukuna's personality, he would rather die than receiving help since fighting independently was their style.
Unfortunately, the mentioned boy did not have a grasp of their intentions.
"I don't need help from you guys!"
Hearing their conversation, Shinatsu almost wanted to let out a sardonic laugh. Assistance? That would be the last thing both they would do right now.
"Sukuna, are you having a big misunderstanding here?" She responded to his words in a tone that was neither enthusiastic nor matter-of-fact.
And Yukari, who had similar thought was also amused and said. "Assist? Help? As if both me and Shinatsu-chan would do such tasteless thing. We just came by to pick up our boy."
"Exactly. Time to retreat, Sukuna."
"Caw! Withdraw! Withdraw!" Kotosaka also repeated the call for retreat.
"No way! I'm staying to fi-!" He was unable to voice his objection the point of Ayamachi was few centimeters away from his throat. There was no doubt he would get throat cut if the perpetrator moved his hand.
Although it was just a threat, she had to acknowledge once again that this man would not even show mercy to children.
"Don't be so difficult, Sukuna." He called out the boy's name without '-chan', proving that he was being serious. "A child throwing tantrums is unsightly. Besides, I've already decided that Kuroh is mine. When the time comes, I'll get to have him all to myself…"
Hearing the 'grand confession', Shinatsu face palmed and jumped down from the rock, and carefully use her hand to move the sword away from the victim. This was not the first time she had to watch their fracas from the sideline anyway.
To be honest, she also wanted to remain here but there was no second choice in this instant. Nonetheless, there was at least another enigma that she could witness later.
"You two can assault each other later if you want."
Standing in between her two comrades, she glanced at Sukuna. "Nagare-san will arrive here soon so at least, we should respect his decision. Right, Sukuna?"
For a moment, his hair stood up on the back of his neck when her eyes locked with his dark green eyes. Her deadpan expression remained unchanging but, he could swear that her eyes just reflected a glint of blue and a vert little upward curl in the corner of her mouth.
And he was smart enough to get the message. No, it was a demand.
Knowing he would lose this verbal fight even if he continued to argue against these two further, Sukuna scowled and raised his scythe. "Hah! You two are even more selfish!"
Concentrating his Aura into the weapon, Sukuna swung the scythe and the green blade destroyed the window, creating an explosion which released a rain of shards of glass spreading out in mid-air.
Camouflaging themselves inside the smoke, the three used their Aura to 'teleport' themselves to the given location they were ordered to go.
However, the message Yukari left behind to Kuroh got imprinted on her mind.
On that fateful day when we settle things once and for all.
The second-half of this chapter followed the plot of Episode 7 so it was not easy to give a detailed description of characters' feelings and actions in this chapter. September and October are going to be a nightmare marathon for me because I have to hand in application for several universities. Currently, I am studying at a Japanese language school for one year in order to polish my Japanese in the field of global studies course.
Additionally, I want to congratulate the release of the first movie of K: Seven Stories. I have been waiting for this series of movies to be released ever since GoRA made the announcement last year. Though, the movie that I want to watch the most is Side Green which will be released in September. People who are fans of Jungle will be able to watch movie version of Side Green novel.