(The Latest Distortion has begun to form. Where will this one take us? Let us find out shall we.)

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Bold + Italics = Japanese Conversations

Distortion 17

The first thing Makoto felt as her mind wandered about was the sounds and visions of something happening around her. The feeling of touching various objects as she did things was familiar to her as she was quick to realize that she was having another lucid dream once more. As soon as her mind made that connection, she immediately felt the whole world around her suddenly become a lot clearer as she found herself not standing in the middle of nowhere nor was she was able to freely dream whatever she wanted. Instead she found herself looking around a very unfamiliar scene around her.

To her left, she saw a stack of books, piled high up and several files piled alongside the books, the contents slowly spilling out of the files as to Makoto's right there was more book and files. Wherever she was, she definitely was in a place that did not match with any memory she had. It was then a massive pile of the books collapsed at that moment, causing a person to scream as Makoto couldn't help but take cover at that moment as she heard a snap and a crash to the ground as groans could be heard from that point.

"….ow ow ow… Oh the pain… my hips." The person, a woman complained as Makoto continued to stay hidden as this person remained on the ground, rubbing their hands on their hips as her brown hair was clearly a mess, telling Makoto that she had been sleeping for a while and was passed out for quite some time. Makoto herself did not know how to respond to the scene in front of her but just remain quiet and continue to observe what is going on.

'What on earth am I even dreaming about? This is just weird what I am experiencing right now.' Makoto thought as she continued to quietly observe what she was watching. Normally, when someone has a dream, it's either a grand fantasy or something related to their past. Never before has she heard of people who dream that instead dream of something completely different as she decided to watch out of pure curiosity the scene happening in front of her.

"Did I sleep in again?… Oh she's going to kill me if she finds out." The woman complained as she brushed her hair straight as she stood up, allowing Makoto a good glimpse of what she was wearing. This woman wore a school girl's uniform but instead of a cape she had a long coat jacket over her as she realized that the woman's uniform was similar to the uniform that the Celica girl she met briefly wore as she was wearing a pair of black pumps.

"Right… I'll just get those notes ready and make sure everything is right for…" before the woman could finish her sentence, a door opened loudly, spooking both her and Makoto who was trying to hide as she jumped and collapsed to the ground. "There you are! I have been looking for you everywhere!" A woman shouted as Makoto was out in the open and began to nervously sweat before realizing that she was in a dream and decided to wait and see what happens next.

"I'm sorry! I was just busy working on some thing is all." The woman said as she rushed towards the other woman who had just appeared, walking right past Makoto as that told her that she was truly in a dream at that moment. "No excuses, I told you to get some proper rest on the bed. Not on the study." The other woman said as Makoto finally had a clear shot of who the person was. She soon gasped when she realized who this person was talking to.

If her signature pink hair was not a clear enough sign to this woman's identity, the pointy witch's hat and her signature purple garbs would have immediately told her that the woman she was speaking to was actually the great sage nine. One of the famous six heroes who stopped the Black Beast's rampage of the world and is often credited as the one who brought Ars Magus and the whole way of using Seithr to the world in general.

"I did try to get some rest on the bed… but then I suddenly had an idea and I just needed to know more and well…" Before the girl could finish her sentence, she immediately felt her head get bonked on her head as she rubbed her head greatly. "That is no excuse *** you know that you have to take care of your health to the best of your abilities." Nine critiqued as the girl rubbed her head. Makoto couldn't help but be confused by the event that just happened.

'Regardless of what I am looking at… why was her name cut off like that?' Makoto said as the name of the mystery woman continued to linger in her mind as Nine walked over to the girl's messy table. "And your notes are all piled up in such an inefficient manner. How many times I told you that your research notes should be the same as the way you would cast ars magus." Nine lectured as the girl simply nodded her head.

"A clear and concise work flow means easy and efficient results. But I got so excited when I realized that we could have increased the seithr flow through the usage of several restraining type Ars magus seals that I just had to find out." The girl replied as Nine couldn't help but shake her head. " *** I understand that you are excited about your discovery and trying as hard as you can to figure out the problem we are in right now. But taking care of your health is just as important." Nine lectured as the girl couldn't help but pout a bit.

"What about you Nine? You eating properly these days? I haven't seen you leave the main room for quite some time and I think your sister is worried for you right now." the girl said as Nine herself flinched a bit, whistling before the girl shook her head. "Geez. Fine I will take a break from my current research but only if you sit down and have a nice meal with me. I am feeling a bit hungry for some seafood right now." The girl said.

"Of course. Your cooking is one of the few things besides my little sister that would get me to eat right anyways…" Nine commented. "You know. You should start to try and learn some cooking for that boyfriend of yours. Jubei-san would really love to see his bride to be cook him a nice meal after all." The girl said as Makoto could see a rare blush on the great sage's face, finding it cute as Nine covered her cheeks in embarrassment.

"S-Shut it! I am good at candy making and that is the only thing that counts at the end of the day! Besides… I like watching him cook." Nine said, twiddling her fingers as she pouted her face a little. 'Wow… the great sage Nine… actually behaving like a woman of her age… that… that is actually creepy to think about. Why are you thinking of weird stuff like this brain.' Makoto thought as she slapped her face to try and see if slapping herself awake would work. Unfortunately that was not the case as she sighed sadly.

"Oh stop being so stiff about stuff like that. Say more of that stuff and you will age yourself before you know it!" The girl teased as Nine immediately grabbed her by her shoulders and had a menacing look in her face. "Are you trying to call your teacher an old woman now?" Nine asked menacingly as Makoto and the girl could see a massive seal form behind Nine, creating a gigantic flaming fist that was ready to slam itself right on her.

"N-No Miss! I am just saying that you wouldn't want that beauty to fade faster than it has to right!" The girl replied, quick to try and defuse the situation as Nine simply sighed. "In that case, maybe we can direct that worry you have for me into something more useful… like our current issue with a certain rampaging Nox nyctores." Nine said, quickly dispersing the seal she had created as the girl took a deep breath of relief as she nodded her head.

"We have to finish working on our secret weapon before it finds us. Seriously Professor, why didn't you just develop a counter to it before building it." The girl commented as the girl began to pick up some scattered notes from the ground. "I did, that's the Rettenjo. However it's currently sealed away before I could even have the chance to use it. And even then, it's not going to be able that Nox Nyctores in the first place. That thing was the last resort we used to weaken the Black Beast enough for us to defeat it in the first place." Nine explained as Makoto couldn't help but find this information interesting yet weird.

"Just why am I even having a dream as wacky as this?" Makoto loudly thought as she couldn't help but hold her head, wondering if the blow she took to the head when she fell down a few days ago was triggering some sort of delusion in her head. Even if this was not a delusion, this was just too realistic… something she had clearly never seen before. So why was she begin shown such a dream in the first place? All she could do is just to observe this dream and find out the clues for herself.

"So not only the item capable of dealing with our problem is currently under lock down. It may not have even worked in the first place… talk about being a mood killer Nine." The girl commented as she finally placed down more of her notes on the table that she had made neat. "Regardless… we should still eat, we need food in our system to be able to think of a way out of this." The girl continued as Nine couldn't help but scratch her head.

"I still feel bad for dragging you out to help me with this in secret. I understand that you were supposed to be studying for your classes back at Ishana." Nine explained as the girl shook her head. "I couldn't really get most of the lessons they taught there. I find your Ars Magus more interesting to learn over the stuffy magic Ishana was trying to pawn to us. So just keep teaching me the secrets of Ars Magus and I won't say that you dragged me out of the school for your work." The girl said, cheekily jabbing the great sage at her shoulder as Nine couldn't help but smirk.

"Fine fine. Sorry for asking about your own well being ***." Nine commented as Makoto couldn't help but place her hand on her head as she wondered why her name was being censored out the way it was until something came into her mind. A coincidence more than a realization for Makoto as she couldn't help but stare at the scene, realizing what it could be. "Am...Am I viewing a memory from a person who was also a Continuum Error like Sora?" Makoto said, her mind able to put together the thing she was seeing as she witness the world around her begin to fade.

"So… you know about us?.." A voice all too familiar to Makoto said as she realized even more things. The voice… it belonged to the girl that spoke to Nine. The voice was starting to make more sense as the girl now stood in front of her, her appearance remaining the same as she saw on the dream but this time Makoto was finally able to look at her eyes as she realized that the girl's brown hair had become near white and her yellow eyes reminded her...of Sora.

"You...You look like him." Makoto said meant for herself as she realized she was dreaming about a woman who too was erased from history by the Master Unit. Someone like Sora Minakaze as the person simply looked at Makoto and nodded her head. There was a nagging growing feeling, her features… they were familiar in a way to a person she saw before. She tried to put it together but her mind simply refused to connect the dots as she felt her vision to darken as the girl simply smiled and said a familiar pair of words.

"….Make us Whole…. Form the Contract…. Makoto Nanaya."

As soon as Makoto heard those words, her eyes immediately widened as she began to pant out heavily. It took her a bit to get a good bearing of her surroundings as she realized she was still on the plane that was taking back to Otsu. Her body had broken into a cold sweat as she stared out of the window to see the fading skylight as she laid her head back on the rest of the seat. As she did so, her eyes glanced right at the Rev Blade as her prosthetic arm touched the Rev Blade.

'What is this make us whole business… and what is the contract?' Makoto thought as she found herself pondering about the questions in her mind. What was that dream all about? Who was the girl that she saw that had Sora's hair and eyes? And why did she even dream about that kind of dream in the first place? But most important of all, what was the contract? What did it mean to be whole? The questions were in Makoto's mind along with the fact that she was still trying to find a way to save Sora.

"It appears you seem to have a way to use your moxie on a lot of things. Especially now Miss Nanaya." A voice spoke as this alerted Makoto, making her reach for the Rev Blade and pointing it right at the direction of the voice she heard only to see that it was Rachel Alucard, sipping on a cup of tea while seated not on the airplane seat but a gigantic black chair that wrapped itself around the airplane seat, suggesting that she was using magic to do so.

"Oh!… It's just you…" Makoto said, lowering the Rev Blade as Rachel Alucard couldn't help but chuckle a bit as she drank her cup of tea that she held carefully and with grace despite the small amount of turbulence she experienced. "I do apologize for dropping in the way I did. I just thought I would have paid my most interesting squirrel friend and see how she was doing and to my surprise, she has somehow managed to make things even more interesting."

Makoto couldn't help but scratch her head with a small chuckle from her voice. "Did I really leave that much of an impression to you Rachel? Geez I don't know if I should feel touched or worried." Makoto said as she relaxed herself on the airplane seat, trying to not stress herself much more than she needed to. "So… what is the real reason you decided to visit me like the way you have. Surely just seeing a squirrel girl with moxie isn't the only reason you have." Makoto commented as she felt a presence beside her and her airplane's tray table drop down.

"I would suggest having some of the lady's fine tea. She wishes to converse with you for a little while and the tea I brewed for her is just exquisite." An older gentlemen said as Makoto's eyes immediately widened as to who was going to be serving her the tea. His long white hair that had a pink bow tied to the end of his hair and his butler suit did little to hide the true nature of the wolf beast that was Valkenhayn R Hellsing in front of Makoto's eyes.

"Please do not hesitate to accept a cup of tea from an old man like me. Despite my reputation, I simply am a butler of my mistress for the longest time. So please do not hesitate to ask me for anything." Valkenhayn said as Makoto simply nodded her head, accepting his offer as she saw the old man pour for her a fragrant smelling tea as she stared at the black tea that was in front of her. She could only awkwardly stare at the tea as Valkenhayn smiled.

"This is a prime blend of Earl Grey. You shouldn't hesitate to take a sip. You must feel a bit weary and this tea shall help ease some of the worries of your ailment." Valkenhayn suggested as Makoto simply nodded her head and took a sip of her tea. The fragrance of the tea did not match the taste as Makoto flinched a bit before coughing a bit. "Not used to drinking tea I see. I apologize, I should have asked for your preferences." Valkenhayn said.

"T-There's no need for that. This tea is really refined for a country bumpkin like me." Makoto said, feeling like she shouldn't take advantage of the kindness Valkenhayn was giving her as she took a few deep breathes before taking a second sip of the tea, finally able to savor the taste as Valkenhayn gave her a simple brown sugar cube for Makoto to use. Makoto wanted to thank him but Valkenhayn was already tending to Rachel so Makoto simply smiled and accepted the sugar cube quietly.

"So… you have made your decision in regards to how you wish to pursue your current goal am I right?" Rachel questioned as Makoto looked at her and nodded her head. "Yes… I couldn't stay back at Ibukido. I needed to keep finding answers and if it meant defying the laws of the world. I was going to do so under my own terms instead of the world being shoved down my throat." Makoto said, prompting a small smirk on Rachel's face.

"Indeed… it seems like the doubt you had on your face some time ago is almost but evaporated at this point." Rachel commented as Makoto decided that now was the best time for a question. "I must ask… I recently came into contact with something and now I am starting to hear voices in my head. Do the words Form the contract, Make us whole ring any bells?" Makoto questioned, hoping that Rachel's experience with bizarre activity would lead to some interesting information that Makoto could hopefully learn.

"Form the contract… Make us whole…" Rachel muttered as she placed a finger on her chin and began to ponder on the words herself. "I do not know the words themselves, but I do understand the meaning behind those words." Rachel said as Makoto nodded her head, leaning in to listen to Rachel's explanation. "It implies that whatever you touched wishes to be used by you. Whether you choose to accept it or not that is up to your own mind to decide."

"Up for me to decide huh… that sounds like something I really need to consider if that is the case." Makoto said as Rachel leaned her head a bit. "I must admit, the choice of words spoken to you. It implies the being that is trying to make you forge said contract is a living being of sorts." Rachel said, stopping Makoto from drinking more of her tea as she realized that what Rachel had said made some sort of sense.

Makoto: You're right about that… but what could want to make a contract with me?

Rachel: You want to know?

Makoto: Of course! If it will help me find out what I need to know about Sora then I need more power to fight against what is in front of me right? Especially if I am meeting more and more of those agents of the Master unit now.

Rachel: If I may. I would like to offer you a bit of a word of caution if you choose to do such a thing.

Makoto: Sure. I don't mind. Let me hear it.

Rachel took a small sip of her tea before setting her cup on it's plate once more. "Whenever people in the past heard such calls of power. They often take them without thinking about the potential ramifications or risks that such a contract poses on their users. While you may be eager to gain the strength to fight for your beliefs, never fail to think what you are sacrificing for such power." Rachel advised as Makoto before would have just brushed it off and be confident that she would have been able to handle such things.

While she was strong by herself and was not going to let anyone beat her in terms of raw power and the belief of her friendships. That is not the only measure of strength a human being has to go by. People have different types of power that they rely on and being dependent on just a few while strong in it's own way, can also mean being a limit to one's potential. "Thank you for the kind words. I will keep them in mind as I continue to ponder on what that means." Makoto said as Rachel couldn't help but chuckle.

"Though I am intrigued by this being's words. Do you happen to recall the sensation you would feel whenever this thing spoke it's words?" Rachel asked, deciding that now was the time for her to press for her own answers as Makoto looked at her surprised for a bit before nodding her head. "Well… until just a few hours ago. I never really understood who was telling me all of this. It was most of the time just a disembodied voice repeating it over and over again… Though I do recall when it happened exactly."

The choice of words that came from Makoto intrigued Rachel further as she decided it would be for the best if she started to pay attention to her friend's words. "It was… during when I was running away from Otsu to Yabiko. I remember facing off against one of the Master Unit's chosen ones, Amy. As soon as she tried to kill me. Something reacted with me and before the attack could ever hit. It pulled me out of it… And this broken handle of a sword that Amy was carrying on her suddenly came rushing out of me."

As Makoto described the feeling she went through, Rachel was already thinking about the possible reasons as to why things occurred the way they did. "Before I knew what was happening, everything became wack and I just blanked out. That's when the whole, "Form the Contract, Make us whole." sentence began." Makoto explained as the way Makoto described what was happening made Rachel ponder even further on the nature of things that was happening.

"So this sensation you felt. Can you go into further detail about it?" Rachel asked as Makoto thought she was already quite in depth before she remembered something that was crucial. "When Amy tried to kill me. I was thinking about how I refused to die the way she tried to kill me. So my body moved. But when I did so, it felt like time had come to a complete stop in the process. When I realized what I needed to do, I had already done it and I felt a backlash of sorts hit me."

"Did you happen to see yourself when envisioning what you saw." Rachel questioned as this raised Makoto's own curiosity as she nodded her head. "Hmmm so you had a similar experience to The Error as well…" Rachel explained as this alarmed Makoto as she realized there was another crucial detail that Rachel needed to know before she forgot about it as Makoto had the time to gently place the cup of tea on another tray table before standing up suddenly.

"Now that you mention it, the dream I had before you showed up… it was a lot weirder than normal. I mean… it's not as weird as what I am currently experiencing but never the less it's still weird." Makoto said as Rachel simply raised her hand, prompting Makoto to realize she was going around in circles and needed to slow down as she took a couple of deep breaths to pace herself for what she was going to say next.

"So… In my dream, I was dreaming that I was in some sort of facility. Not like a laboratory but more like a study. That's not the weird part, the part that is weird about it is that in that dream, I was nowhere in it and I heard the voice asking me to form the contract. It was a woman who happened to be a colleague of the great sage Nine but when Nine spoke her name, it always cut off for some reason… and call it my intuition or gut feeling, but I felt that the sensation I felt was similar to whenever I tried to keep my memory of Sora intact, certain things are blurred out like his facial features but I could remember his name and it was the same for that girl."

Makoto took a deep breath before looking at Rachel to gauge her reaction. As expected, Rachel had the stone cold look of someone patiently waiting for the next part of the story. "So when I got a good look of this girl, she had the same features Sora had. She originally had brown hair and her eyes might have been green...or a darker shade of blue. But when I saw her again, her hair had become white and her eyes were now yellow. Just like Sora's. I do not believe in coincidences but I cannot help but think that she's related to Sora in some way that I cannot explain very well."

As soon as Makoto finished her explanation, she took the time to take a couple of deep breaths for her composure to return. She knew she had delivered a lot of information for anybody to take. Not even someone like Rachel would be able to comprehend everything she said if she didn't give Rachel the time needed to process everything that had just been said to her. In order to give her that time, Makoto sat back down on her seat and took a large gulp of her tea which she gently placed back down on it's plate.

"Another cup of tea for you?" Valkenhayn said, lightly surprising her as she had nearly forgotten that Valkenhayn was patiently just waiting around as she saw another cup of tea on his hand. Unable to refuse the kind gesture, Makoto simply accepted the tea and sipped this new hot brew slower to enjoy the taste of the tea. As soon as she did, she looked at Rachel, ready to hear what Rachel had thought about her current predicament.

"I am not sure how I should interpret what you saw. That is up for you to decide. But if it is an opinion you wish for, then I would strongly make sure you keep that memory in mind when you continue your search for your beloved." Rachel said, making Makoto both feel wiser and dumber at the same time as Rachel simply smiled and began to approach Makoto. "Regardless of what you decide to do, make sure it is one not of regret and one you can be proud off…. After all, You are resolute in your decision at the end of the day."

Rachel's words resonated more and more with Makoto as she nodded her head, as soon as Rachel finished her words, she began to form a portal in front of her. "I shall now take my leave, when we meet next time my friend, shall I teach you basic tea etiquette?" Rachel questioned as Makoto simply nodded her head, deciding silence was the best way to convey her feelings over words. "Valkenhayn, please leave some snacks before you leave." Rachel ordered as Valkenhayn simply bowed as Nago and gil floated beside their lady, leaving with her.

"Here are some butter biscuits and some small scones. Airplane food I heard has an infamous reputation of being rather bland. If the mistress would refuse to eat such things, then I must ensure one of her parties of interests are treated the same." Valkenhayn said as he placed the biscuits and scones on Makoto's tray, ready to leave to be with his lady. "B-Before you go. There's something I want to ask you if you don't mind." Makoto asked as Valkenhayn simply gave his fellow beastkin a smile, ready to answer any of her questions.

"I remember reading in my history books about you that you were well known for being one of the most reclusive Six Heroes. A lone wolf to put it bluntly. What made you decide to become a butler in the first place?" Makoto questioned. Valkenhayn couldn't help but smile, amused at the question being asked of him. He decided that it was best to give her the best answer he could give her while also teaching her something in the process.

"Just as you are searching for your beloved. I am here because to fulfill the promise I made to an old friend many moons ago. When I was younger and more reckless like you I was willing to do whatever it took. But as the moons pass and my body aged, I learned that patience was truly a virtue. It was fine to be hasty and search for challenge. But having a center, something you know you can return to. That is what makes the challenge a challenge. I wish you luck in the search of your beloved, you truly will need all of the moxie my lady loves to say you have." Valkenhayn said as he took off, finally leaving Makoto to her own devices as she sat down on her chair.

"...A center huh…" Makoto wondered, staring at the delicate pieces of finger food in front of her as she picked up a butter biscuit and bit down on it. It tasted wonderful as she sipped it with some tea as her mind went to a peaceful place for a brief moment. That came all crashing down when she heard a loud announcement beep come from the airship itself. "We are approaching our destination soon. I would recommend seat belting yourself up and making yourself comfy back there. We are going to touch down soon."

Makoto simply nodded at the words she was told, here she was, about to take the final steps towards a journey she was embracing with her whole heart. She wasn't just fighting for herself and for her own needs. She was fighting for her friends and their own wishes too. The difference is that for once, both of her desires, her desire to find and rescue Sora and her desire to find and rescue Tsubaki to stop her from killing Noel and Hunter were one of the same.

...As she enjoyed the final pieces of decadence she felt she would be receiving for a while…

GREETINGS LOST SHEEP OF FANFICTION!? HOW IS EVERYONE DOING ON THIS FINE DAY! I hope you guys don't mind that this chapter was a lot more slow paced compared to the recent action filled chapters. I always believed in the importance of maintaining the pacing of high intensity action with much slower paced down time to help setup for the action. A small tip I can give to the people who may be interested in writing some day.

SO WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT TO MAKOTO NANAYA!? WHAT PERILS AWAIT HER IN HER RETURN TO OTSU!? HOW MUCH CAN A HIERARCHICAL CITY CAN CHANGE IN JUST A FEW DAYS!? AND WILL THE WORDS SPOKEN TO BY NOW OUR MYSTERY PERSON MEAN ANYTHING IN THE BIGGER SCHEME OF THINGS!? The only way to find out is to await the next time the chapter is posted and reading from that point onwards.