Chapter 37: The Demon Within (2)
Previously:
"…I need a favor…"
"Cho-" But whatever Mea was about to say was halted as a presence spoke within her mindscape. 'Let him speak, Mea.'
'Master…!' Mea exclaimed inwardly, surprised to hear her Master's voice within her.
"Use your powers…"
"To connect my mind with Kujou-senpai's!" He finished, now practically begging. "Then…"
"…"
"We call it even!" Rito finished, a hint of frustration in his voice, but a plea nonetheless.
"…?" But the red headed girl remained silent.
Chapter 37: The Demon Within (2)
At that moment, everyone waited for a reply from the girl.
However, Kujou Rin did not.
The blade wielding girl, dashed with an explosion trailing behind her, the demon blade gripped in her two hands.
"Give…me…."
"…Blood…!"
*Mindscape – Kujou Rin…*
Darkness.
There was nothing but darkness.
Suspended.
Lightness.
'My body…' The girl thought as she tried to move, but found her movements restricted and tangled up, making any movements straining and futile. She felt herself, submerged in complete darkness, deprived of any sort of energy. Not even enough to open her eyes.
Though her movements were restricted, she felt an uneasy sensation of weightlessness, like being in a vacuum, or submerged in still water. She found herself talking slow and calm breaths. Noticing her lack of awareness, she concentrated on her hearing, and she was surprised.
'…My body…doesn't seem to be mine anymore…' She thought, feeling her exterior's movements. From within, the girl heard the muffles of the world outside of her. The muffled clangs of metal amongst other sounds sent shockwaves down her unmoving body. She was exhausted.
'What….am I doing…?' She wondered to herself weakly.
'Someone…'
*Outside world…*
"Yuuki Rito." Yami simple warned as she got ready in her stance, her combat armoured hand transformation in both hands. She prepared herself as Kujou Rin hopped up from her dash, both hands above her head, her purple sword ready for a downward cut.
But the cut had never made it through as a loud metallic bash could be heard. Rin's sword met the enlarged metallic arms of Yami with sparks. Realizing that her attack was rendered useless, Rin lifted her sword and once again tried her best to slash at the assassin. Making wild spins and varied arcs with her sword and body.
"Kurosaki Mea!" Rito called out for the red haired girl on the sidelines as he once again rejoined Golden Darkness in her endeavours to fend off the attacker. Rito courageously dashed forward, a shoulder bashing into Rin's stomach, sending the girl meters back, a shockwave was left where they came in contact.
Seeing the opportunity Rito created for her, Yami dashed forward, her angelic wings spread gust behind her. In response, Rin was forced to duck and dodge, frantically blocking and avoiding the slow albeit heavy strikes of Yami's transformed fists. Yami had slowly pushed the girl back, creating more and more distance between the fighting and the group, distracting the danger from everyone.
'Kujou Rin is tough…' Yami thought to herself as she flapped her wings, flying up to avoid a sudden slice towards her mid-section. However, her eyes widened in slight surprise as her white apron was halved. 'She's becoming more aggressive with every passing moment.' The girl observed with sharp eyes.
"Kurosaki Mea!" Rito called out desperately, turning back at the red headed Trans weapon, who seemed to be stuck at a mode of speechlessness.
There the red haired maid stood, her eyes confused, her mind nervous. There presented her an unsolvable dilemma. The girl clenched her teeth as she looked towards the battle between her sister and the bodyguard, now seeing Rin flying across the distance, destroying another section of the large mansion yard.
'At this rate… Kujou Rin is not going to last…' Mea told herself. 'But…master said to blend in…keep your powers to a minimum…but…'
"Do not fret, my loyal Mea."
"Master!" Mea called out internally, surprised at the voice in her head.
"Help the boy, Mea. If that is what it takes to befriend the earthling."
"Huh? Demo…I-"
"Your objective is to befriend the boy and Konjiki no Yami. Abandon your feelings and emotions if you must. Or did you forget…"
"…'Do not let your emotions compromise the mission', I remember your teachings, Master!" Mea said sternly, in absolution.
"Then all will be well." Nemesis smiled. 'Now go, my child.'
"…Mea!...Mea!"
"E-Eh?" Mea stuttered out, now finally noticing the rocking of her body as she looked to her side.
"You dazed out for a second." Nana said, now lifting her hands off of her shoulders.
"Please help Kujou-senpai, Mea!" The middle Devilukean sister exploded, unsuspectingly shouting at her best friend. Nana looked up and met eyes with her. Desperate purple ones with indifferent but confused blue ones. "Onegai!"
"…" Mea continued to ponder momentarily. '…If this will please Master and make Nana-chan happy…then…'
"…I guess that leaves me with no choice then…" Mea continued with a whisper, slightly confusing her pink-haired friend. Wordlessly, the girl looked up towards the sky, and instantly, two silver feathered wings seemingly mechanically sprung out of where her shoulder blades laid. The enormous wings unwrapped themselves, stretching wide across.
With a gusty flap, Mea was off, lasting moments in the skies. She had later landed beside the orange haired assassin warily, a small distance separating them.
"Diving into Kujou-senpai's mind and pry her out of Bladix's grasp." Mea asked, a serious and stoic face plastered on her, onlooking the clashes between Yami and Rin. "Are you really sure, Yuuki Rito?"
"What do you think?!" Rito said, snapping at the girl. Through the Trans weapon's widened eyes, she could make out the ever so frustrated yet serious face, his teeth clenching, a bead of sweat rolling.
"It would be one thing under normal circumstances, but right now, Kujou-senpai's mind is under Bladix's influence. If a foreign entity were to intrude, it would surely try to eject it with all its power. In the worst case, you'll get your mind torn to shreds. The damage will be irreversible and you will die. Not even Ryouko Mikado will be able to do a thing." The red head warned. "Knowing that, are you still going to go that far?" Mea said, looking straight at the boy. "Even though she's not family?"
"…No good teacher wouldn't worry for their students." Rito replied calmly. "Like many others, I too care a lot about her." Rito announced unwaveringly. "Danger means nothing when you're saving the ones you care deeply about!"
Momo's eyes widened at Rito. 'Rito-san sounds so cool…I knew it! He cares about Kujou Rin-senpai…-now's not the time!' She sunk her thoughts, controlling herself.
"…" Mea was slightly taken aback by Rito's outburst of emotion. She found herself at a loss of words for his reaction. 'I wonder…Is this…what master would do…if it was me…?' She pondered to herself. "…Fine." She uttered, much to the boy's relief.
"Arigato. Kurosaki Mea-"
"Just secure and keep in contact with the girl. Then wait." Mea interrupted.
"Got it!" Rito said as he dashed forward speedily, his footprints replaced by cracks in the ground.
'So fast…!' the 'maid' said to herself alarmingly as she took to the air.
'This is getting nowhere…' Yami said to herself as she raised her left hand, blocking the incoming sword with the enlarged metal gauntlet. She then countered, raising her right hand, transforming it into a blade in the process. Rin pushed off the gauntlet, flipping back several times.
"Yami!" Rito's voice called out as Yami instinctively looked up, seeing a katana in the air, hurdling towards the female combatants. Realizing the significance of this maneuver, Yami inwardly smiled as she know what Rito was about to do, and what she had to do.
Yami dashed forward with flaps of her angelic wings, meeting the grounded Rin whilst reverting her hand transformation to their original form, surprising the wide eyed Kujou in the process. Then without warning, Yami slowed down dramatically as she undid her final transformation, the white feathered wings disappearing in a flash, leaving behind Yami. The Trans weapon then spin in the air, catching the airborne katana with impressive accuracy, she finished the spin with a diagonal slash at the girl, who this time round wasn't fortunate enough to block the blow.
Not expecting the sudden weapon in Yami's hands, the katana ripped through her maid uniform, cutting her white apron clean in half. The black maid dress underneath also received the same fate. However, Yami held her speed, as to only render her opponent stunned with her attack. It wasn't meant for any real damage.
As if on cue, Rito ran in right past Yami and briefly hopped up, knocking Rin's blade hand aside with a swift inward crescent kick, causing the bodyguard to lose balance. Rito then used the momentum gained from the kick and spun, transitioning into a mid-air back kick into Rin's guts.
Winding the girl, Rin coughed as she flew back across the now half destroyed front yard of the Tenjouin Mansion. The girl tumbled and rolled on and off the ground, even the tree which stood in her way stood no chance against the earthling projectile, snapping like a twig.
But before Rin could even regain composure, Rito was already upon her, or rather, below her. The boy skid under the girl and executed a side kick, except it was directed upwards, pushing off the ground in a crouching stance.
The black haired bodyguard was instantly sent directly upwards from the harsh kick. And Rito soon followed the girl, jumping upwards, pushing off with three of his limbs, his back facing the sky.
"Now! Kurosaki Mea!" Rito called out high up in the sky as he hugged his student tightly. "It's alright now…" He comforted her, whispering silently at the girl, who could only squirm violently within his embrace.
"Hai!" Mea shouted from above, darting forward like a bird, her wings outstretched. She flew downwards towards the two embracing earthlings in the air with great speed. "Ikuzo!" Mea called out as she flipped, bottoms up. Upon reaching the two, the braided red hair behind her back sprang to life, untangling themselves into two separate bundles, each one snaking its way to the earthling's forehead. Both Rito and Rin's eyes widened in surprise at the sensation.
Splooosh!
Rito opened his eyes for the first time in seemingly ages later, surprised filled his face as he felt the weightlessness of his own body. He was surrounded by a seemingly infinite cloud of deep pink. He frantically looked around, seeing the white trails of air bubbles littered around the darkness.
'So this is Kujou-senpai's mind…' Rito thought in awe as his eyes diverted around, not paying attention to his slow and steady descend into the darkness. "It's really dark…-WAH-!" But in the midst of his pointless observation, his ankle seemingly tripped on something as the boy flipped, losing all sense of direction and balance, being in that weightless environment.
Surprise hit him, quite literally, when he found himself involuntarily hugging the object closest to him for balance and grip. Rito's eyes fully widened as he gasped, feeling the strange yet familiar sensation of flesh. He found himself hugging a girl's midsection, one hand wrapped her waist, and the other crawled up to her ample chest. Fortunately for the boy, a breast conveniently rested itself beside his face. His eyes widened in shock. His hand discreetly went for an instinctive squeeze.
'….?...This' The girl suspended in purple tentacles gasped inwardly as her eyes snapped open at the new feeling. '…This sensation…'
"WAH!" The two earthlings screamed as Rito immediately detached himself off the girl. "GO-GOMEN!"
"Yu-Yuuki Rito?! What do you think you're doing?!" She shouted, a heavy blush on her shocked face. The girl frantically looked around her affrightedly, then at last down on herself. She found herself suspended in weightlessness Her arms above her, her entire naked body tangled in strings and tentacles of glowing purple. "J-Just what is happenin-"
"Th-Th-There's no time to waste. You're trapped inside your mind and I'm here to get you out!" the butler within Rin's mind said, floating upwards towards the tentacles snaking up her arm and with both hands, the orange haired boy began pulling on them desperately. "I'll…untie…you…!" The boy groaned out his arms shaking.
"Yuuki…kun…" The Kujou said as her eyes quivered, looking up towards the boy, who looked like he was trying his hardest to pull the strings apart. 'Yuuki Rito…is saving me….'
'Again…' She said to herself dejectedly.
Moments thereafter, an ominous low hum reverberated everywhere, as if calling to the very depths of their souls.
"Hrrrrr…Who the hell are you…" The voice bellowed. Rito momentarily paused his actions at once, looking past his senpai's head. His golden brown eyes fully widened, seeing what resided behind her.
"An intruder from the outside…" The voice once again echoed. "…So there IS someone besides me who can access the consciousness of living beings…" The figure that Rito laid eyes on was far from human, far from anything he had ever seen. The…being… a distance away from them was a fat and sentient sword, a single red eye with vertical lids divided it's hilt and the rest of its body. It was webbed in the center of purple strings and tentacles, like a spider.
'This must be Bladix's true form!' Rito pointed out in his mind. The boy soon found himself clashing eyes with the sentient being. The crimson eye of the sword met the assassin's.
"How annoying…" Bladix moaned. "You'd dare try to get back to consciousness of the female I finally captured…AND I HAVENT' EVEN TASTED A SINGLE DROP OF BLOOD!" The demon sword exclaimed, sending strands of tentacles hurdling towards the boy.
Gritting his teeth in in frustration, Rito grab hold of the bundles of strings binding Rin's hands, gathering them in his left hand. He then raised his right hand, his fingers closed and pointing outwards. Instantly, his entire arm began charged with dancing crackles of blue as he swept his arm before him, completely tearing the bundles of purple clean. The rest of the tangled tentacles around the girl disintegrated into black dust, which promptly disappeared into nothingness.
Surprising all occupants in the mind, Rin dropped, no longer under the restrictions of the tentacles, falling down and landing onto a seemingly invisible plane of ground, almost once again bound by gravity. However, Rito on the other hand, was not as lucky as he was lashed out by several tentacles, whipping at him in multiple places. The boy could only fly back as he grunted in slight pain.
'It's strong.' Rito noted to himself as he fell and tumbled onto the 'ground', violently rolling into a stop.
"Yuuki Rito!" Rin called out as he dashed towards the boy, kneeling beside him. "Daijobu, Yuuki Rito?!" She called out, propping his head up with a hand.
"Watch out, Kujou-senpai…it's very strong."
"Gigigi…who do you think I am?! I am a sentient being that survived multiple centuries of wars. And though I don't know how you got in here, you've sure annoyed me!" Bladix bellowed once again, its eyes widened, damn well nearly popping out of its socket. "WHERE ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO FIND ANOTHER HOST WITH THE SAME WAVELENGTH?!" Bladix screamed out deafeningly. "DIE!"
Two large bundles of tentacles lashed out from the sword, gunning towards Rito and Rin.
"Kujou-senpai run-" But before Rito was able to complete his plea, Rin courageous stood up, despite her dress stature, and stepped before the surprised Rito.
Seeing the strands of purple closing in, Rin took a deep calming breath as she took a semi-wide stance and spun multiple times on the spot. And to the boy's shock, a thin but visible film of frost surrounded the girl in a sphere, deflecting the attack.
"Nani…?" The sentient sword gasped as the frost around the bodyguard shattered as Rin fell on her knees, breathing deeply.
"Senpai…!" Rito called out, now instantly beside the girl, kneeling, his butler jacket now over her shoulders. "…"
"Huff….huff…." the bodyguard slowly lowered her breath. "…that move…was meant for you…" She sighed and breathed.
"N-Never mind that! We need to get out of here!-"
"You know…" But before either of the earthlings can speak, a calm and almost cheeky voice called started behind the two. "Perhaps…there's a third option."
"Kurosaki Mea! Now is not the time for games! Stick to the plan!-" But Rito was once again interrupted.
"Kujou-senpai. What if I told you that there is another method to save everyone, and harvest your true power at the same time…?" The naked form of Mea said, floating towards the Tenjouin bodyguard.
"…." The two were shocked, to say the least. "Wh…What do you mean…?" Rin asked as Rito stayed silent.
"These parasitic intelligent metal based lifeforms…they are a special type of organisms…" The Trans weapon clarified. "If you destroy their mind and soul from the inside…their exterior husk however will remain."
"…" Rin remained silent as she contemplated in her mind. 'It's exterior…strength…' It then suddenly clicked in her mind, the notion of additional strength she would gain from going through with the Trans weapon's suggestions. 'Demo…' The girl thought hesitantly as she looked over towards boy.
The two met eyes for a good moment, as if having an internal argument.
'What are you going to do, Kujou-senpai…?' Rito wondered.
'…'
"I'll destroy you Earthlings Gaaaa!" Bladix hollered out, gathering its masses of tentacles, momentarily capturing Rin's attention.
'Looks like I need to get out of he-' Rin concluded as she turned to her mentor. But surprised filled her mind as she looked at the boy, who now shakily stood up. "Rito, we need to get out-"
"Daijobu, senpai…" Rito said calmly, taking her hand, gently handing over the Kujou family katana over to its rightful owner. With both hands, Rito delicately wrapped placed the hilt in Rin's hands, his other hand helping wrapping her fingers around it.
"Yuuki…Rito…?" The bodyguard with the black jacket stuttered out. To say she was shocked was an understatement. "W…Why?"
"Because I believe in you." Rito said as he fell onto one knee, coughing from the earlier strike.
"Yuuki Rito!" Rin followed the boy in suit in worry, her hand on his shoulder.
"I believe in you, Kujou-senpai…" Rito huffed out with a smile.
"So get up there…"
"And show me"
"Your true"
"Strength..."
*Queue battle music : "Heroic Desire" – Danmachi*
"Let's go, girl! Just wait till I destroy your mind and take control over your body…" The voice growled menacingly, killing intent practically radiating off of it.
But the reaction the sword got from the girl standing below was far from pleasing. Rin simply walked forward, step by step she took, her katana held lowly by her side. Not a single waver in her black eyes.
"DIE!" Bladix yelled as it launched countless mass of tentacles up the air, then letting it drop on the endless plane of consciousness like rain.
In response the girl dashed off, swift and smooth. The girl run in different directions and arcs, as to avoid getting hit by the blades of purple raining down on her. She gasped and breathed heavily as she ran, occasionally twisting and turning her directions, even close to the point of getting impaled, if not for her quick reflexes and flexibility.
"How about this then?!" The voice snarled evilly as the single eye of the sword widened. And instantly, the path that the Kujou Rin was travelling was suddenly blocked by spikes of purple. Seeing the unexpected turn of events, the girl's mind faltered, but not her body.
'No! I can't fail now! Not in front of Yuuki Rito!' She overcame the mental barrier as she rushed off even faster. She flipped her sword grip into a reverse grip and held her hand close to her chest, awaiting and preparing for what was to come.
'NANI?!' Bladix thought to itself, shock written all over his eye. Prepared the girl was as Rin ran with haste, her katana wildly dancing around her, spinning and twirling with high speed, slicing and dicing the spikes of purple like butter. Not a single movement was wasted and not once did she hesitate, even when the spikes were a hairpin's length away from her head. She expertly passed and spun the katana from hand to hand, over the back, over her head. All her movements were flawless.
Both Rito and Mea watched as the frail human took on the might demonic sentient sword, with nothing but amazement written all over their faces, albeit discreetly.
'Why does she…' Mea thought. 'Kujou-senpai's not too shabby.'
'…' Rito could watch on in nervousness, a bead of sweat down his face. 'How long will she last…?'
"YOU'RE IRRITATING ME, GIRL!" Bladix shouted out as he unleashed all of its tentacles, sending them towards the girl in a beeline. "I WILL DESTROY YOU WITH ONE LAST MOVE!"
"Then I will do the same." Kujou Rin whispered icily as she jumped up high. 'It's now or never…'
'I hope you're watching, Yuuki Rito!' She whispered to herself as she shut her eyes, blocking off all exterior senses. She could see nothing, hear nothing, taste nothing, smell nothing, touch nothing. She instead concentrated on the feelings inside her, all pent up within.
"Imagine the person you care about the most." The girl recited silently. "Yuuki Rito…"
"Now, imagine that person is standing right in front of you, right now…" The girl recited silently "Yuuki Rito…"
"Imagine protecting them with everything you've got…" The girl recalled silently. "Yuuki Rito…"
"Now make that person proud…!"
Then it came. That feeling of determination. That desire for strength to protect. All of it bottled up, now released. What once was white frosty flare enveloping the girl now expanded exponentially, now enlarging into a very vague but bright aura of a bear of ice, stand on its hind legs, high and mighty.
"Wh-What's going on?!" Bladix asked panickingly as its tentacles jammed itself into the shield of aura around the girl's presence, but never once touching her. Instead, the strands of purple simple froze in contact, completely solid. Ice buckled down the full length of the strands of tentacles as they now became frosty white, instead of its dark purple. The trail of white swiftly extended themselves, all trailing back to Bladix, frozen.
"I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED BY-AHHH-" But before the sword could finish its sentence, its entire body became rigid and tight as the white breath of frost overcame him. The ice buckled and creaked under the pressure of bucking together around the fat sword. But this did nothing but advance its ultimate fate.
"Shi-ne (Die)." Uttered Rin as she finally landed, dropping from the sky, both hands clutching her family sword, its edge bearing down on the blade.
'Yuuki Rito…' Rin thought as she fell. 'I hope….you noticed….' Were the bodyguard's final thoughts as her sword smashed onto the ice and right through. The sounds of shattering ice and glass could be heard as the sword, seemingly frozen in time, burst and shattered violently into countless pieces, its explosion sounds echoing within the endless cavern of Rin's consciousness, the vibration shaking everyone to the core.
'S-she did it…really…' Everything seemed to fade to blank all of a sudden.
*Reality…*
"Rito-san!/Rito!"
"Kujou-senpai!"
Resurfacing from the deep well that was Rin's mind, Rito found himself dropping in mid-air, once again experiencing a gravity all too real, with a black haired pony tailed maid in his arms.
He dropped down onto the ground silently, kneeling, careful with the girl in his arms, bridal style.
It was then when he heard the voices calling out to them. He turned and saw the rest of the 'maids' rushing towards them.
"Daijobu?!" Momo asked urgently, kneeling down next to the boy.
"I-I'm fine…" Rito replied after a moment of hesitation, still trying to process that he went through. But his eyes widened with concern.
"Kujou-senpai!" Rito called out worriedly, gently cradling the swordsman in his arms. 'Wh-what's going to happen to-'
"No worries." A voice said as everyone turned to their left, seeing a red headed angel, descending from the heavens above, with her mechanical steel wings, her braided hair flowing in the wind as she landed gently.
"She's broken free from Bladix's control, so she'll wake up soon." Mea promptly explained, much to everyone's visible relief.
But all wasn't well…for Konjiki no Yami, at least.
"Bladix." The golden haired assassin chanted mercilessly as her hand transformed into an enlarged metal gauntlet. She hopped over to the unconscious girl in an attempt to strike at the inanimate purple sword by her side.
But her actions were involuntarily halted in surprise as she found her fist advancing no further.
"Yameru (Stop), Yami." The orange haired eagle said, holding a single palm out, intercepting the gauntlet with his hand with an impressive display in strength. "Bladix no longer exists."
The statement from the boy had struck the girl as odd as she turned to her 'younger sister', but seeing her indifferent face and an ever so slight nod, she had all the validation she needed.
"Uhmmmm…." Groaned a girl as her black eyes fluttered open, she blinked around confusingly as she attempted to sit up.
"You're awake, Kujou-senpai!" Nana called out.
"Wh…What happened to me…" She groaned groggily as she sat up, with the help of Nana and Momo. She felt her sensations slowly coming back to her, her senses revitalizing her. The earthling felt the chilling sensation in her palm as she looked to her side. Amazement fill her as she stared at what she was holding. The mysterious inanimate sword stretched as long as her katana, the purple glow on the side no longer emanating, it instead spilled a continuous but small amount of icy vapor. The sword felt cold, it felt dead.
'Is this….my power…?'
'Is this…what true strength…means….?' She continued to stare into the sword.
*Somewhere in the trees…not far from there…*
A rather large figure remained hidden amongst the remaining bundle of trees in the garden. The caped man sat on the grassy ground, crossed legged.
"I can't possibly come out now…" Zastin reveled to himself, a hint of frustration in his voice. "In any case, this got resolved without my appearance…." Zastin told himself. 'But Momo-sama and Nana-sama are safe, my job is done…I guess…' He finished with a comical sweatdrop.
From his vantage, the whole ordeal was clearly visible to the man's heterochromic eyes. He had mixed feelings about the events.
He was relieved, seeing his sire's daughters safe and sound. But at the same time, he became extremely worried. His grey eyebrows scrunched as he folded his arms. He took a critical peek behind the tree, his eyes zoning onto the red headed Trans weapon from a distance afar.
'Demo…still…' Zastin allowed his thoughts to trail off as he glared at the red head's back, seeing her large mechanical wings folding itself into nothingness. 'She's a Trans Weapon…the same as Konjiki no Yami?...are there others…?'
'No…more importantly…is she a friend of Nana-sama?' The royal commander contemplated. 'On this planet, an alien hiding her identity isn't rare, given her abilities…but…'
"ZASTIN-SAMA!"
"P-Please wait!"
The large Devilukean jolted in surprise as he turned around, an anime sweatdrop rolling down the side of his head, seeing the Tenjouin and her trusty companion rushing towards at him, out of breath.
The group, noticing the call for the Devilukean bodyguard, all turned to the tree lines nearby, seeing the man crouching behind the tree.
"Z-Zastin-san?" Momo asked in surprise.
"KIMI GA! (YOU!)!" Nana shouted furiously, a red tick mark on her forehead. "What's the point of coming out now, you good for nothing!"
"G-GOMENASAI!"
*Unnamed Distant planet…Galaxies away…*
Despite his wildest desires to just jump up in a rampant fit, the well-dressed man forced himself remain seated. He was in somebody's home office, after all. The home office was small and cosy, the small waiting hall consisting nothing but a counter and three rows of chairs, most of which were empty.
"Ugh…" Ougi sighed to himself boringly as he blew air up to his bangs boringly, sliding down the seat he sat in, his bottom sliding lower and lower. The man looked up to the ceiling, then down onto his chest. 'How long am I waiting in line…' He bemoaned inwardly.
"OH COME ON! Work, you damn machine!" The not-too-distant voice of a male hollered as Ougi batted an eye to his left.
There it was, the same man who appeared in the same office in the same exact spot, moaning about the same item he ordered from the same vending machine. Ougi winced at the kick the man sent towards the vending machine.
"Sigh…" He then took a small ticket from the inside pocket in his business suit, facing the number '133'.
But he was once again distracted as he felt a tug on his expensive looking blue pants as he turned to the right of his seat, and surely enough, sitting directly next to the man was a small child. The child held out a small lollipop to the man, his bored face equally matching the man's.
"Thank you." The silver haired Ougi thanked as he took the lollie from the unknown small child's hand, giving the child a radiant smile.
"Number 113!" He heard the receptionist called out.
"Good news." A certain dolphin headed humanoid alien said, as he threw a brown envelop of files onto his already jumbled table. "I think I might be onto something." He announced with a smile.
"Kenchi, the vending machine still isn't fixed." Ougi merely stated as a matter-of-factly, already not impressed with his achievements .
"Gah you'll never believe it." The dolphin head tracker casually waved off his friend's antics as he continued, in a low but excited voice this time. "A few weeks ago, the Devilukean Galactic Prison was shut down. But that's not the interesting part." Kenchi then gestured the folder before him.
"Security footages and eye witness testimony claimed to have seen a small streamlined looking spacecraft 'black as the deep space' around the time the shut-down occurred. And we both know that there's only one person that this aircraft belongs to…"
"The Lunatique…." Ougi replied, connecting the dots. "Konjiki no Yami..."
"Right, so I went there and did some comprehensive first person analysis. I've scan the vicinity XYZ in a one light-year radius…and I've managed to pick up a strange signal…"
"What kind of signal?"
"Special radiations given off only by nano-machines…and I followed the trail and estimated its electromagnetic linear trajectory and cross reference that with any planets in its way. And I found one." Kenchi said, handing over an image of a planet to Ougi, which he accepted.
"…Earth." The scientist breathed.
"Just as I said." The dolphin like tracker announced proudly. "These things take time."
The two adults then fell into a rather comfortable silence, each sitting on the opposite side of the desk in the shadily lit office.
"What the hell is that?" Kenchi asked suddenly, looking through the window of his office to the outside hall. The run down half destroyed vending machine no longer existed, instead was now being replaced two large looking bear aliens.
"A new vending machine. Yours is broken. Consider this a bonus." Ougi stated as he stood up. "Head to Earth and investigate, I want visual confirmation from you and you only." Were Ougi's last words as he left the office, leaving Kenchi speechless in his seat, his mouth agaped.
'Then and only then...will I act.'
*That night…*
"Hello and welcome this is the Garde-."
"Good day as well. Is this the number for the Garden of Eden restaurant…?"
"…Yes sir..."
"I would like to reserve a table for two…"
AUTHOR'S NOTES: WELL, THAT CHAPTER WAS CERTAINLY FUN TO WRITE, ESPECIALLY ON MY NEW SURFACE PRO 3
STARTING TO NOTICE THAT MY CHAPTERS ARE GETTING LONGER AND LONGER…
IN ANY CASE, I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR YOUR VOICES AND OPINIONS ABOUT THIS CHAPTER. DID YOU GUYS LIKE IT?
FUN FACT #14: THE NAME 'RIN' LITERALLY MEANS 'COLD' IN JAPANESE…
FUN FACT #15: IF YOU REARRANGE THE LETTERS OF THE NAME 'RITO', YOU WOULD GET THE WORD 'TORI', MEANING BIRD IN JAPANESE… (ARE YOU SEEING A PATTERN HERE GUYS? ;))
AND AS ALWAYS, MORE CHAPTERS STILL TO COME!
REVIEWS ARE HIGHLY APPRECIATED AND LOVED!
CRITICISMS ARE ALSO ACCEPTED.