The Fool slowly descended the stairs from his bedroom after he finally managed to equip himself for a life threatening trip into the TV. Every step hurt him and it showed on his wincing face, but the pain killers he took should kick in any moment. He didn't like the meds, but since magic didn't work, he had to bear the slight fuzziness in his head.
This was not how Midori imagined to spent his 29th July. Only an hour went by after the phone call and already the team assembled to start another rescue operation. Not that he didn't understand them, given that a little girl was stuck inside a death trap. Again.
A small part of Midori wondered what the hell was wrong with the town.
As he walked down the steps to the basement, or rather the IT-Base, the injured teenager stopped shortly and had to take a deep breath to calm himself.
"...at least, well, tell him? It's his house," the muffled voice of Yukiko said in a worried tone.
Now was not the time to lose his temper. They were going to save Nanako without him. No big deal. He could relate to that. Still, it was quite the struggle to unclench his fists.
Did they think he was that crippled?
No, they were only worried. He was injured, so it was logical.
After being sure that his inner turmoil wouldn't show on his face, he dramatically opened the door with a swift foot movement and exclaimed with a smirk:
"What, is this a veteran only operation?"
As expected, his voice surprised the team, huddling together in front of the TV and they all snapped their heads to his direction. Realization dawned on Naoto's face first and she shook her head in...amusement? Midori wasn't very sure, but her smile was more important, so he didn't care enough to find out.
No wait, it was not! His eyes quickly blinking, Midori cracked his neck in order to hide his temporarily flushed face. When he looked back at the team, Yukiko regained her wits as close second and frowned.
"Midori, you are not fully healed yet!"
...Was she chiding him? Judging from her pointed finger at him and the fact that she was the one of the healers, most likely. Actually, she sounded a lot like his foster mother at the moment. Given the fact that Yukiko wasn't as dangerous however, the Fool could afford to be more rough in his answer:
"I can walk, I can pull a trigger, I took pain killers and I can use a persona. No big deal."
To emphasize his point, he pulled out his revolver and gave the team a demonstrating, short gun spinning, before holstering them again.
Midori felt a frown forming on his face as he saw the unsure faces of the others. Biting their lips, crossing their arms, scratching their hand, avoiding eye contact, all signs of discomfort. Were they that worried about him? Still, he could bring more on the table. He walked forward and raised his finger-
"Very well. You can cover the back."
Or he could just let Naoto support him. She nodded at him and looked around to meet the stunned faces of her team mates. Clearing her throat, she elaborated in a calm tone while checking her gun:
"Midori is not an invalid and is capable to contribute in this operation. It would be foolish to not take him with us. We need all the fire power we can get."
"Well...if you put it like that, it wouldn't hurt, right?" Chie said and looked at the others, who also gave their variations of agreement, from slow nodding to...Teddie.
"Alright, it's decided then! But make sure not to overdo it!" Rise exclaimed with a grin and shot her arm up to the air.
Midori was stunned, but he decided to not look a gift horse in the mouth and shrugged in agreement before he walked over to the others in front of the TV.
"You're not taking the shotgun?"
Yosuke's question confused him for a moment, when he remembered the weapon he acquired from Yukiko's dungeon. He pondered about it for a moment and shook his head.
"No ammo," Midori said and frowned.
Given his state, he did not think about the new firearm and its ammunition at all. He wouldn't have taken it with him anyways. Why use a new weapon, he only has a vague idea through the firing range day he didn't want to remember, in an important event like this? Besides, unlike in games, he could not switch weapons in under a second. Hell, he didn't even have a holster!
"You could have asked us to get it for you," Chie said with a small hint of a chiding tone.
Despite the fact that she had a point, Midori felt irritated, though he only showed it a bit by his tensing muscles. He didn't need them to be his errand people. Still, the Fool accepted that Chie, and in extension the others, wanted to help.
"It slipped my mind." the American simply said as he scratched the back of his head and then kept his silence.
He didn't feel the need to elaborate. He gave them the truth, not the full one mind you, and that was enough.
"Pity...could have used the fire power," Yosuke said with a small, but grin as he played around with his kunais.
"Well, Midori is more oriented on...distance. Especially now," Naoto stated and gave the teenager in question a pointed look after she checked her gun again.
"Hey, don't talk like I'll never use it. I like the kick of it," Midori countered with a displeased tone.
"Enough about the damn shotgun! Y'all ready?!"
Kanji's shout stopped the chattering and everyone focused back on the TV. Midori took a deep breath, smiling at the lack of pain, and nodded his head like the others as they equipped their glasses.
One after another they stepped through the television and the Fool was the last. When he landed, he let his mind settle down and-
The chill ran down his spine like an avalanche, so it startled the others when Midori yelped out loud and looked around in a nervous manner with his weapons pointing where he looked.
He knew that chill. It was only for a short moment in his childhood, but he would never forget it.
Apparently Midori wasn't alone with the fear and the knowledge of what he felt. The small calm part he kept in his agitation noticed how Teddie and Rise weren't better off while the rest of the team were confused and getting nervous too.
The bear was on his knee as he held his head in fear while the idol held her hands in front of her mouths with widened eyes.
"W-what's wrong?!" Yosuke exclaimed as he knelt next to Teddie and rubbed his back to calm him down. Meanwhile the rest of the team eyed their surroundings as well, ready to lash out at everything that even moved an inch.
It was Midori who explained the situation, right after he calmed down.
Which meant that he transitioned from fear to anger.
"Shit, a reaper...why is a reaper here?!" He snarled into the air, cursing whatever deity hated him and stomped on the ground.
Reapers, the cleaners of the collective unconscious of mankind. They are one of the foremost and most dangerous creatures that the unconscious sends to deal with irregularities in its realm. The common, unspoken rule for anyone encountering one is simple: Do not fight them if it's avoidable. Reapers don't simply kill you, they erase one's entire existence. They aren't invincible, but Midori knew that there was nobody on the team to take on a reaper alone, meaning that they would waste a lot of time and energy to beat one.
What confused him was: Why was one here? The TV-World wasn't like the Dark Hour. They weren't in a dimension that would trick them to think, that they were still in the Unconscious and perceive anything from the material world as "irregular". The team was allowed, so to say, to be here, simply because this world basically WAS Inaba. He probably counted too because of his shadow.
Midori touched his chin and frowned.
Therefore, the reapers were here because of a specific reason...a specific someone.
"...It's going after Adachi again..."
Rise's soft and scared voice pulled the Fool out of his musings and he looked at her, who was currently supported by Naoto. Midori winced. Reapers always left a deep impression for someone of their skill, so he walked up to her and gave her a reassuring smile.
Though it changed to confusion when he processed what she actually said.
"Wait, that happened before?"
Chie was the one to answer, since Rise was still unsteady on her legs and Teddie only settled down a little bit yet:
"When we fought against Adachi last year, a reaper came and attacked us. Though it wasn't really focusing us."
"Guess that makes sense..." Midori trailed off quietly as he crossed his arms.
"What do you mean?" Yukiko asked confused and tilted her head.
"Reapers, and yes there are more than one, only appear to...cleanse irregularities to maintain order in the universe. As you probably experienced...they aren't picky about their targets. You're a threat in any way or trespassed the Collective Unconsciousness and they will hunt you down. Adachi was most likely the higher priority at that time then." The others nodded, knowing what the American was talking about.
The question however was: Why? Adachi was reasonable, he tried to bring the apocalypse. But why the team? Did they do something to upset the balance?
He had the answer on the tip of his tongue, but it kept escaping him like a slippery snake.
Midori let out a frustrated hiss and tucked his hair back.
The answer would come to him eventually.
They had to add another one on the list for saving.
It wasn't hard to pinpoint Adachi's location. He didn't even close his eyes as he found the position of the Reaper's presence and in extension the ex-convict.
"Okay guys, I need at least three other people to get Adachi out there, so we better keep moving," the exchange student said quickly and began to lightly jog. When he noticed a lack of footsteps behind him, he turned around and saw how nobody moved to follow him. A knot formed in his stomach and he asked confused: "Guys?"
Silence reigned between them and the Fool slowly stepped back, as if he saw some kind of horror in front of him.
It was Yosuke who broke the silence and stepped forward, with an expression that one could only call coldblooded.
"Midori...We gotta focus on Nanako-chan."
"...Are you serious? You...you just gonna let a human die?" Midori said in quiet disbelief and shook his head, while still remaining eye contact.
"It's not that! But we need all the power we got so that we can be sure that Nanako-chan can be saved-"
The American didn't let Chie finish and exclaimed in anger he pointed a finger at them:
"You told me that in the past you always went into the dungeon in a team of four! Why is it so different this time?!"
"Dude, she's a little girl! We don't know how long she can survive up there, especially if there is a crazy kidnapper and murderer! We gotta save her now!" Yosuke yelled back in barely restrained anger as he stepped closer to Midori.
"Yeah! We don't know when she's gonna kick the bucket! It's different now! We don't have a single idea when shit hits the fan! I mean, look at Yosuke! He was only a day in there and Teddie barely managed to save him! We can't waste our time, trying to kill a frickin' reaper!" Kanji stood right next to Yosuke as he added his own piece with irritation.
"I never said we had to kill it! I say we grab Adachi, fuck off and catch up to the other team!" Midori argued back, his throat beginning to hurt from all the yelling and waved his arm in Adachi's direction.
"We do not know what awaits us in the tower. We can't risk it to split up. And the Goho-m do not work."
The calm voice of the Fortune trying to reason with him made Midori sent Naoto, who then averted her gaze, a hurt look.
"Naoto, I know we can make it! I just need either Rise or Teddie with me to get an escape route and two others to distract that thing and survive!" The Fool elaborated. His breath began to become heavy and his heart beat against his chest stronger than before.
At least Naoto had to see his logic, right?
"What if you won't make it? This is too risky!" Rise said with a worried tone, bordering on pleading.
"I KNOW!" Midori screamed, startling the others. He took a deep breath as he looked down to the ground, trying to maintain a fraction of calmness and continued with a desperate look directed at the team with his hands cupped together, "I know...but we should still do it. Adachi is not a nice guy, I get it. But I can't have a peaceful mind if I let him die. I'm better than that. You should be too."
"Don't accuse us! I don't like it too, but if I have to risk it between Adachi or Nanako-chan, I take her!" Yosuke snarled back and turned around with clenched fists.
The Fool had a blank expression on his face as he looked at the others.
They all shared Yosuke's opinion, as they refused to look into his eyes and moved closer to the sub leader of the team.
Midori slowly looked into Adachi's direction and let out a deep breath. He couldn't help but chuckle dryly as he shook his head, as if he heard a bad joke.
The team hated Adachi too much. This was made obvious by their decision.
He started to laugh louder and the team began to look a bit concerned.
It wasn't that Midori didn't understand where they were coming from, but it still sounded hilarious to him.
If it wouldn't have, he would have done something he might regret later.
"Guess I have to follow family traditions then..." He muttered and before anyone could ask, he ran towards Death.
Literally.
His family did it all the time from what he could remember and for that he respected them. They were so much stronger than him and he could only hope to be like them.
At the moment, he couldn't afford to hope. He had to be like them right now.
Not that being himself ever helped him out in situations like these, given that his persona was all about copying.
The others yelled something, but Midori didn't care as he ran, glad that the pain killers were doing their job.
He will save Adachi.
Just like his family would have.
/
As Midori began to run out of breath, he thought that perhaps going through with his "plan" without any backup in his state wasn't the smartest thing he did.
He had to slow down to catch his breath and wiped of the sweat forming on his forehead. Adachi was further away than he expected. Which would make sense, because a reaper was on his tail.
A reaper he was going to fight by himself and maybe Adachi.
The Fool groaned as the pain in his ribs began to slowly, but surely resurface again. Perhaps he should have tried harder to convince the others.
He then let out a loud snort. No need to think about that now. He burned down that bridge with napalm. Nevertheless, he imagined that if he was less confrontational with the team, he might have gotten at least one or two of them on board.
Midori shook his head. He couldn't regret his actions. Sure, anyone else in his place could have done a better job, but he stuck to his opinion and they to theirs.
So he just had to be smart about the incoming engagem-
"Wait!"
His mind came to a screeching halt at the voice and his eyes widened as he stopped in mid step. Turning around, he saw Teddie chasing after him in a frantic manner. The bear panted a lot when he reached him and put his short arms on his...knees?
Still, this wasn't what Midori focused on. He felt anger bubbling inside him as he grit his teeth.
They seriously sent HIM to convince him?
"Teddie, don't even try to stop me!" The American snarled and turned around to keep walking.
"Nonono, this isn't why this bear is here! I'm here to help you!"
The gun user stopped yet again and turned around with wide eyes. In front of him, the bear had a fire in his eyes as Teddie regained his breath and held his little paws on the places where his hips should be. The Fool blinked several times and looked around, as if he lost his words and tried to find them. At last, he slowly managed to say:
"...Seriously? Wow, I...why?"
"Because that's what sensei would do! And letting someone die is...nonononono, not good! Even if he is a bad guy!"
The goodness radiating from the bear ashamed Midori. How could a shadow have more innocence than him? If the American didn't believe in someone's redemption, he didn't care if they lived. Teddie on the other hand, he assumed, would never kill someone on purpose.
A soft smile formed on Midori's face as he nodded.
"Thanks, buddy."
When Teddie made no single movement or indication to follow him, the Fool raised an eyebrow as his mouth formed a thin line. The bear seemed to fidget around as he kicked some stone on the ground and had his arms behind his back.
"Are you angry at them?" The shadow asked in a nervous tone and Midori bit his lip in discomfort. Should he tell the bear? He was in fact pissed off. He wanted the whole team with him.
But he didn't hate them for it. Hell, Midori was probably more angry at the situation than at them. So, the American concluded, he wasn't enraged enough to not speak with them anymore.
Unfortunately his silence went on too long before he could give his answer.
Why you ask?
Because the bear began to take his silence as a negative answer and started to talk with a frail voice:
"I know we didn't show it, but we appreciate what you are trying to do with Adachi. We know that he isn't so bad. And...and..." Suddenly tears well up in the upset bears eyes and Teddie cried out loud in the air: "RRRAAAAWWWWRR!"
"What the hell?! What's wrong?!"
Midori held his hands in a placating manner, though he was the opposite of calm. The crying surprised him in more than more way and he winced at the thought that he was at fault.
"I-I don't want-want us to be angry at-at each other! It-It's too..sad!"
"Okay, okay, I get it! I'll try to clean up that mess later! Just stop crying! I get why they did what they did," Midori explained and sighed as he waited for the bear to calm down.
All of a sudden, a lot explosion sounded from the direction they were going and both of their heads snapped to the source of it. The Fool cracked his neck and looked over to Teddie, who also had a determined, but tears stained expression on his bear suit. Midori nodded and said with a wry grin:
"...It's showtime."
/
"Any plans after this is over?"
The ex-convict stopped midway in biting a piece off his cabbage as he sat on his sleeping mat and looked at Midori, who leaned on the fountain, with a raised eyebrow. After a short pause, he slowly finished his jaw movement and chewed a bit before he swallowed the vegetable. He then cleared his throat and asked in a flat tone:
"What?"
"You know, after solving this whole mystery?"
As the American waved his hands around in a deadpan manner, as if to mock Adachi, the latter took a deep breath. Why was this little shit bothering him all the time?
Still, it helped him not getting insane. It was annoying but the silence in between the visits was killing him, because the brat's shadow only showed up when Midori was in the TV-World.
Because of that, Adachi scoffed and decided to humor him:
"What plan could I have? I'm dead out there, remember? Should I just walk back into prison and tell them that someone kidnapped me and made a fake corpse?" He shook his head and let out a dry chuckle: "Like hell that will fly with them."
"You sound like you want to get back in there," Midori asked with an amused look on his face and crossed his arms. This made the ex-convict clicking his tongue as he finished his food and laid down on his back.
"Not even a little bit. But it's better than having a shitty job. Besides, redemption and all that, right?"
Contrary to his flat and sarcastic response, he was honest this time. Despite the immense boredom he withstood in his prison cell, it was better than anything else he had in his life. Daily food that was something different from cabbages (even if it tasted like shoe), no more paperwork and he only had to put up with the same goddamn questions from the same goddamn stupid interrogators.
In comparison to Dojima, they were like kindergarten bullies.
Besides, he promised to abide to the rules of society and he would keep it. The brats were the winners and he was the loser, so their word was law.
Adachi began to frown when he followed that line of thought. The rules of society didn't cover the supernatural. Because of that, nobody could properly punish him and he had to sit around in his cell, waiting for the impossible to happen.
In short, he got a bit tired of trying to follow the rules, since the rules ignored him. Sometimes the temptation of breaking out to get an alternative option lingered on his mind.
Though, now that he actually broke out, not on free will mind you, he had no idea if there was another option in the first place. Adachi crossed his arms behind his head and stared to the endless ceiling of the TV-World.
He could try to pull a vigilante, saving stupid people from getting eaten by shadows in this world. The ex-convict was officially dead anyways, so no need to live a double life.
Adachi chuckled in amusement. Prison and an alien world really screwed him up if he considered to become a Whatever Ranger knockoff.
"I could give you a new life."
This casually mentioned sentence was like ice magic, freezing his body. Adachi slowly turned his head at Midori, who pretended (because it had to be) to check his finger nails and then gave the ex-convict a blank look.
While Adachi was sure that he could see some smugness in his eyes, he decided to spend his energy on formulating an appropriate response.
At the end, he raised himself from his oh so wonderful bed, cleaned his ears a bit and gave him a half-assed attempt of a condescending look:
"I'm sorry, I think your little world made me deaf...You what?"
"Arranging a new identity for you wouldn't be that hard. You would work under Joe then. I hope you won't be too sick of the American police life."
There it was! That little twitch of the mouth from the little shit! Him pretending to be casual pissed Adachi off like hell. But he would not give the Fool the satisfication of riling him up.
Instead, he scratched his head a bit as he took a calming breath and gave Midori a tired look.
"...Why the hell are you doing this?"
"I believe in redemption-"
"Yeah, I get that. But why go out of your way to help me that much?" Adachi interrupted him harshly as he rested his chin on his hand while his arms made an "L" form.
"Letting someone rot in prison is useless. Sure, the dead will have a clean conscious to know that you suffer," Midori elaborated with a serious expression, though he did use air quotes on the last word. "But making you do some good sounds better to me."
"That can't be everything," Adachi asked in distrust and awaited for more reasons.
"You are one of the few people who went into prison and stayed there on their free will. Also, you are helping us sometimes. I can't let that go to waste." Midori then paused in his explanation and looked up into the air, as if the search for other reasons. After a short while, he shrugged. "Let me warn you, Joe can be a slave driver."
"I didn't even say yes!" Adachi exclaimed, ignoring the glimmer of hope forming inside of him.
The Fool looked at him with an amused grin and began to leave the dungeon as he waved.
"Tell when you get a better offer."
Before the ex-convict could say anything more, the door closed already, leaving him alone with his own thoughts.
"Fucking shithead..."
/
Adachi slowly opened his eyes and his head felt like he had too many drinks with Dojima. His vision was hazy and he had no idea if it was warm or cold. What he knew however was the fact that everything on his body hurt and that he had blood leaking from his head. Hopefully only from there. He felt the remnants of the cleaver he got as a replacement weapon and he clenched his fists.
It wasn't effective at all, but it was better than nothing.
As he reoriented himself, Adachi realized that it was a bit hard to breathe and concluded that had a bruise or worse in his chest area. Looking around as he saw more than just blurred lines, he found himself in the ruins of what was once the fake version of the Konishi Liquor store. To be specific, he was underneath a free space of debris and cabinets. But only one thing held his attention:
The cloaked, floating being, equipped with chains and revolvers, looked around with his bloody potato bag of a head. At the moment, it was awfully slow as it regarded its surroundings. Adachi was sure however, that it only played around, because it was way faster when it kicked his ass.
Any illusions of survival and any thoughts ceased when the reaper stared right at him and lined up a shot. He would not be able to escape or materialize his persona fast enough to withstand whatever nuke the reaper planned to shot at him.
Adachi couldn't help but laugh out loud and close his eyes. To die in this place, the irony wasn't lost on him.
"Welp...guess this is it then..."
The familiar sound of gunshots sounded in the area. Followed by more.
And more.
And more.
Adachi became confused.
Whatever the reaper shot, it didn't feel like anything. Maybe a delayed death function? That would be the kicker in this situation, he thought dryly.
Adachi opened his eyes and had to try to not gape at the reason why he was still alive.
It wasn't him who was getting bombarded by bullets.
It was the hound that hunted him down. Not that it seemed in much pain, despite it crossing its arms to block the bullets.
Still, it annoyed it enough to not attack the ex-convict, so he quickly began to crawl out and tried to get up. Fortunately, his legs worked just fine and he began to move in full speed.
All of a sudden a red blur rushed by him and he heard a crash from behind, most likely a collision. He ignored that however to see two figures in front of him. One was the bear, the other one yelled at him with pointed guns:
"Tohru! Come on!"
"Kid?! What the fuck are you doing here?!" He screamed as the other two began to run too with their personae in tow.
"Saving your ass!"
No shit, Adachi thought dryly and shook his head. Suddenly, a lightning bolt zipped close at his ear, heating it up and exploded right in front of them. This made the trio run faster than before. Adachi quickly summoned Magatsu-Izanagi again and tried to deflect the incoming salve with mediocre success.
"Alright! Now to get to the others and Nana-chan!" Teddie said with a happy expression, which changed to a panicked one when a fire ball would have hit him, if Gogo didn't shoot with its own one.
"SERPETINE!"
Following Midori's order, they began to move in different way than just running straight. The explosions appearing next to them, making them stumble, gained accuracy.
And he could hear the god forsaken chains rattling louder and louder.
The ex-convict, after almost tripping to due an ice blast right in next to him, snapped his neck at the bear and screamed enraged:
"The girl is here?! Why the fuck are you here then?! You need to save her!"
"Not without you!" Midori snarled back at reloaded, though not without hissing in pain.
Adachi gritted his teeth. Great, he was still crippled.
"Why are you wasting time with me?!"
Not again. He would not see the lifeless body of that little girl again. He would not be responsible for it another time, only because two idiots thought they needed to save him.
"Because you're my friend! Now shut up already!"
Midori's response shocked Adachi. Did that kid really consider them friends? Sure, they talked a lot and exchanged favors, but that was it. There is no way they understood each other after a few talks like-
Like Yu and him did.
He felt a grin form on his face. Of course the biggest idiot would still have an influence on him. Adachi might as well give up and let this social link stuff do its thing.
"Fine! But don't call me by my first name! It's weird! So, what's the plan?" The former police man asked as he shot his own lightning blast on the incoming bullets. He felt sweat running down his body. The reaper closed the distance faster and faster. Since when were they so quick on their non existent feet?!
"...Well...I kinda hoped I would come up with one on the way here, since I only have Teddie here. I do not, so...keep doing what we're doing?"
Midori gave the others a nervous smile when Teddie gaped at him and Adachi facepalmed.
They were so dead.
All of a sudden, Midori came to a stop and turned around. This made Adachi and Teddie stop too.
They were now in an open, wide space, which surprised the criminal. Did they run that far already? There was no cover at all, only concrete ground and the fog surrounded them.
Before anyone could question him, the Fool muttered annoyed:
"...We won't make it. We gotta fight."
"Didn't you say that a reaper is too strong for us?" Teddie asked as the reaper got into his ideal range, making them dodge more salvos of bullets. This time, a few grazed Midori's legs, tasting blood.
He hissed in pain. After sicking Gogo at the reaper with dual blades, probably from that Ose, he turned around to Teddie and yelled:
"Teddie, go to the others."
"What?! No, this bear won't leave you!" The shadow exclaimed as he cast a heal on the other two.
"Teddie, we two are the only ones who know how to make the portal. The others should have probably learned how to do it, but now it's too late. Without us they can't get out. Don't worry, we'll live!"
As the weapons from Magatsu-Izanagi and Gogo clashed against the reaper, for efforlessly blocked them with its guns, the bear seemed conflicted at what he should do. Adachi hoped that he decided quickly when the cleaner of the Collective smashed the two personae aside and quickly aimed at their heads.
Unable to dodge in time, both manifestations raised their arms in an effort to lessen the damage and the projectiles pierced the limps. At the same time, the damage reflected on their users, who felt the pain of blood spilling out of their arms.
The bear gave Midori and him a final look as he healed them yet again. The former raised his right thumb and Adachi nodded.
No use in all of them dying here. Not that any of them said it out loud.
"RAAAWWWRR! Alright! But be careful, this might get grizzly! I'll be back before you know it!"
With a mighty cry, the bear sprinted into the direction where the other brats were supposed to be and Adachi stepped with Midori at his right in the path the reaper would have to take to get to the bear.
Adachi hoped that Teddie and the others were going to make it. They beat him after all, so they couldn't lose to anything else.
Weirdly, the monster didn't attack them immediately and switched from looking at them (or was it just him?) and the bear, as if it tried to decide after which one it should go first.
The Fool exchanged a look with Adachi and both knew that they had to act now. No more trash talk, no banter. They needed to commit their full focus on surviving.
Just as they were to take the initiative however, a purple flame circle formed beneath Adachi.
Mudoon.
Midori reacted first and kicked Adachi on his hips out of the way and also jumped out of the way, before the darkness consumed everything on the spot in appeared.
What the hell did he do to have this special treatment?!
…
Oh right, trying to destroy the world.
Shaking the thoughts off, Adachi contemplated on what he should do. Contrary to believe, he could plan strategies in some way.
Physically, his persona was below the reaper, but it was still strong enough to do some damage. At least he hoped so, because there was an awful lack of cuts on the monster. Maybe he should try something else. Sadly, he wasn't a martial artist. He only learned the basic sudue-
An idea sprang up in his mind and he felt an evil smirk form on his face.
The brat would get the cue.
After the reaper fired another salvo at the two of them, the ex-convict sicked his persona at full speed on the reaper. He heard a warn yell from the kid, but he ignored it.
Just before the guns aimed at the persona, Magatsu-Izanagi threw his weapon at the reaper's head. The latter simply swat the weapon away, but it has already done its purpose.
The monster lost sight of Adachi's persona for a moment.
A moment in which it could get behind the reaper, grab its naginata and manage to chock hold it. He wanted to cut its blood head off, but it managed to keep its revolvers in between itself and the sharp side of his persona's weapon.
But the ex-convict had no expectations of keeping this up. Already he felt the reaper pushing the blade away with only one arm, while the other tried to move its barrel at Magatsu-Izanagi's head. His teeth gritted, he could feel his blood vessels about to pop. He would not last very long.
"Suzuka-Gongen!"
Too bad that Adachi only wanted to buy time for a big one.
"GOD HAND!"
The gigantic fist fell down from the skies and with a wide grin, Adachi called his persona back into the back of his mind. Just as only a blue wisp was left behind and the reaper tried to react, the hand connected and paved the body into the ground. A dust cloud appeared on impact and only the sounds of small pebbles hitting the ground filled the area.
The criminal looked over to Midori, who slowly strolled over to him and breathed as heavy as he himself was. Suddenly, the Fool stopped and Adachi had a nervous look on his face. Then Midori grimaced and groaned in a quiet tone:
"Oh, come on..."
Chains rattled in the area.
Adachi joined the kid's groaning.
A wind blast cleared the area, presenting the reaper with a gun pointed to the air, no worse to wear.
"Have any energy left?" Adachi asked Midori with a tired face, who in response shook his head.
"Any ideas left?"
Adachi mimicked the American's previous movement. They had nothing left, at least nothing that could make a difference.
The gun of death pointed at them again and neither of them had any energy to defend themselves against another barrage of bullets. Adachi let out a frustrated breath as he saw Midori's gritted teeth and shaking body. Now he could add another death under his belt.
"Hamaon."
There was no other warning than those words and no less than a moment later, the arm that promised their end vanished.
No, it was more like it got vaporized by a bright light orb appearing out of nowhere. Even the reaper seemed shocked at this event, but Adachi was more interested in the voice that was most likely responsible for their safety.
A female sounding voice.
Symphonic Suite DEVIL Third Movement: eXORCiST – Ao no Exocist
Footsteps filled the air and the combatants looked to the right, where the noise came from. Slowly a silhouette showed itself from the fog. The body was about his own height and the figure held its hand over its chest while the other one pointed with its palm at the reaper.
"O Lord, the shadow of death is upon thy children! The evil is strong, but thou is stronger! Grant me power to protect ere the children are brought before thy gates!"
The owner of the strong voice stepped into view and Adachi was baffled at how her words fit her appearance:
A simple black garb dressed the woman, from shoulder to toe. A simple golden cross was held in the hand over her chest. Blonde parts of hair hair peeked out of the white veil she wore, at least reaching to the middle of a stomach.
What surprised him the most however was her face. Green eyes, soft clean white skin and an amused smile adorned it. It wouldn't be wrong to say that her face would be quite the beauty in an old fashioned way.
In short, she only seemed about to be twenty years old at most.
"Blessed be the lord," she finished after a pause, in which Adachi made his observation. He felt a chill run down his spine, when the smile gained a threatening edge.
When he was about to ask Midori if he had an idea who she was, the teenager pointed a shaky finger at the woman, as if he was afraid. This made Adachi tense. Was she another one who tried to kill-
"Auntie Megumi?!"
The criminal snapped his neck at the woman, whose smile seemed more sinister than before and back to Midori. He repeated to action in rapid succession before he finally summarized his thoughts in one sentence:
"Say what now?!"