(A New Distortion. A continuation of events that had transpired. Yet all of the possible possibilities lay before us. Let us see what happens next shall we?)
Bold = English Conversations
Bold + Italics = Japanese Conversations
Distortion 32
Previously on Canon Distortion
Sora Minakaze and the Mercenary known as Bullet carried out an assassination given to them by one of the crime lords that resided in Akitsu-Ko for the items they had requested. As Sora did the dirty deed, he was spotted by a familiar foe who on the opposite side, was simply witnessing a random assassination happen in fancy Akitsu-Ko. Calming his emotions, Sora escaped from the party before his rational thinking was overtaken by thoughts of revenge. But will this night continue to favor our dear error? Only time will tell…
And Now, the continuation of Canon Distortion…
The cold streets of Akitsu-Ko bit down on Bullet's skin. She had just finished changing out of the suit she was wearing for the party and was now at a public sink washing off the grease of her hair that she used to slick her hair back. She was glad to be rid of those clothes as while they were fine for the mission, they were not who she was. As she began to put on her old unit's jacket, she cannot help but begin to think about the old days.
While this was not really the type of missions her platoon would accept, being just in a mission similar to her old days made her feel satisfied in a way she had not felt in the longest time. How long has she spent trying to find the group responsible for wiping her group out at this point? Maybe too long that most people would say that she has too much of a grudge and needed to move on. She could have retired from the game a long time ago but she has spent so much time working as a mercenary that not being one would have been more detrimental to her. After all, beating people up doesn't really work as well in a supermarket or club let alone murdering them.
But at the same time, as much as this job was a good trip down memory lane, she needed to focus on her search for the truth. She had no time to waste with such jobs and the sooner she could get back to her search the better. As soon as she finished getting the last bits of gel off her hair, she walked back to the transport vehicle ready to take both her and her partner for now out of the city. Once it takes them out and to the next city, that was going to be the end of their partnership.
"Sorry to keep you waiting Bullet." A voice called out as Bullet took a deep breath before turning towards the source of the voice. "You were almost late Sora. What took you so long." Bullet said as Sora scratched his head a bit. "Sorry, I was just making sure nobody was following me. Better to be safe than sorry." Sora explained as Bullet could accept this level of caution. If the NOL were to find them and put them in their most wanted list, not only would Vigilantees begin to hunt them trying to collect their bounties, it would make it more difficult for Bullet to get any worth while information.
"Well unless you got some other stuff you need to do, we got to leave now before the NOL starts digging and the checkpoints are closed." Bullet simply said as Sora nodded his head at that, agreeing that speed was necessary at this very moment. The two without saying another word, boarded the transport and soon the vehicle began to move. This let them know that they were being escorted out of the city as per the contract's rules.
"Thank god we made it just in time before the city checkpoint gets shut down." Bullet said as Sora shook his head at that. "The checkpoint shutting down should be the least of our worries for the time being. They will first increase checkpoint security to ensure that should any would be assassins that have already planned their escape manage to reach the checkpoint in the first place, they can just catch them right at the act." Sora explained as Bullet placed her finger on that.
"Why not just close the checkpoint immediately. It would be much easier to do so rather than close it at a later time." Bullet questioned as Sora thought about it for a bit before nodding his head. "Sure, they can close the checkpoints early, but think of it as more of a way to make it easier to catch people who are more relaxed and unaware in the act. Also there's the other routes of escape like sewers and the lower levels that they need time to check first." Sora explained as Bullet couldn't help but think about something at that moment.
"Do you have actual experience committing these type of crimes and getting away from them?" Bullet questioned as Sora shook his head. "I wouldn't say I have experience. But I do know experts on the field and they sometimes let me know about the tricks the NOL likes to use." Sora explained as Bullet raised her eyebrow at that. "Yeah I know, a person like me not having any kind of history is suspicious but you can trust me, I only keep the knowledge I have on me just to have on a rainy day like this." Sora explained.
"I see… and what about the kill? Was the explosion really necessary at the time to get everyone out of there." Bullet questioned as Sora scratched his head at that. There was of course much quieter methods but he picked the brute force option. "I didn't want to risk getting other people involved and I figured that an explosion would be better in bringing in the attention of the local public. I know I promised a quiet kill but I never really did promise on a quiet getaway." Sora said much to Bullet's disbelief.
"Well...if you had killed him quieter, we could have gotten out of the mess we are currently in without NOL breathing down on our necks until we leave." Bullet said as Sora nodded his head. "I was planning on leaving as quietly, but intelligence spotted me and thus I needed to go to plan B. Besides, since we're splitting up after this, you don't really have to worry about being around a wanted fugitive once they publish my wanted poster." Sora said.
"I mean, you got your own thing you need to do and following me has been delaying what you want to do for a while. I truly appreciate what you have done for me but you don't have to keep following around with me." Sora explained as Bullet couldn't help but feel a bit surprised to hear that. "What? You aren't going to try and hire me for my services? Or even attempt to form a partnership between the two of us?" Bullet questioned as Sora lowered his head down a bit.
"Don't get me wrong, I understand the appeal of having more bodies around especially in my current condition. But I too have my own things to do and unless our goals are aligned, I don't want to waste any more of your time than I have to." Sora said as Bullet nodded her head at that. "Care to explain why though? I at least deserve that much since we are working this long together at the very least." Bullet questioned, deciding that she did deserve at least an answer to how she felt and Sora felt the same way as well.
Sora: The short answer, I am in a hurry myself
Bullet: In a hurry yourself huh.
Sora:… I need to get back home. I got people waiting for me that I need to make sure are alright. The journey I have to take will be a hard one.
Bullet: Geez, you make it seem like they are actually in danger or something.
Sora:…
Bullet: That silence tells me that they really are in danger in some way.
Sora: I guess when you put it like that… yeah. They can take care of themselves and they have good friends by their side… but I just don't want to leave her alone. Not after what happened recently…
To Bullet, what it sounded like was Sora himself was trying to get back home to people he cared for, probably the same way her captain and her team was trying to get back safely from the mission while she was out of action with an illness. To Sora, he was simply telling the truth to Bullet but not expanding on the scale that he was in to not raise any more questions or drag people into messes that were of his own making. Only he needed to deal with what was going on, not the others in this world who had no idea who he is and why he is important in the bigger picture.
"Guys, keep it quiet down there, we're almost at the checkpoint." The driver said as Sora and Bullet understood what that meant and went underneath the truck to their hiding spots. The truck was designed with smuggling people in mind so it was designed with the latest in anti detection based Ars Magus as well as the wide range of physical checking systems that remained if Ars Magus failed to spot anything.
The only thing that Sora and Bullet had to do was just remain quiet while the driver did his thing and got them out of there. "Show me your papers." An NOL security guard said as they could hear the shifting of papers coming from their drive. "You sure love delivering all of that whiskey. Can't spare us a drop here?" The guard questioned. "I...I can't sir. I would get my ass kicked if I did so." The driver said as the guard simply laughed.
"That's fair enough, your liquor license checks out. Just need to check the back if you don't mind." The guard said as both Sora and Bullet remained still and quiet in their hiding spots as they could hear the casting of magic happening near them. "Is something the matter sir?" The driver asked, obviously acting to not draw attention if he remained quiet and stiff. "Oh nothing much, we got ourselves a murder and we are about to shut down the borders. In fact, you were going to be our last driver before we do that so consider yourself lucky you arrived just in time." The guard said as both Bullet and Sora could feel the truck vibrate for a moment as the magic was beginning to do it's thing.
"Oh thank the gods. I wouldn't know what to tell my boss if the border shut down before I could make the delivery. We have a customer in Kazomatsu that desperately needs this whiskey and I cannot afford to be late." The driver explained as the guard nodded his head at that. "That's fine sir, just give us a few more minutes and we will let you be on your merry way." The guard said as the vibrations stopped, allowing the two stowaways to know the first part of the check is done.
"Right, going to bring the dog in for a quick sniff, open up the back so our dog can do it's job." The guard said as footsteps can be heard outside as soon the doors of the truck were opened and the loud sounds of a dog sniffing could be heard. Normally most people would be panicking and may accidentally make a noise but both Bullet and Sora have experience keeping themselves still and not panic, allowing the creature to do it's thing and be none the wiser.
If one could say that the tension was high enough to be sliced with a knife, they would have said so but unfortunately, silence was needed on this occasion so no words were said. The dog continued to sniff and sniff, trying to catch a whiff of a smell that didn't belong inside a wine truck. Unfortunately for the dog, the truck had a special odor that was hindering the dog's ability to smell for their intended target while remaining naked to the normal human nose. Thus the dog simply walked back, having been none the wiser.
"Well, everything checks out. You're free to go." The guard said as soon the truck was closed back up and moving again. Both Sora and Bullet waited patiently inside their hiding spots, not wanting to reveal themselves too early and waited for the driver to give the signal. "Alright you two, you both can come out now." The driver said as both Sora and Bullet came out, stretching a bit as the holes were narrow and didn't leave much room for space.
"So that's it. We are out of Akitsu-Ko?" Bullet questioned as Sora remained quiet for a bit. "Yeah. We will be driving the rest of the way towards Kazomatsu like Garlond promised you two. Just sit tight and get some rest, I'll call you once we reach the place." The driver replied back as soon the call ended there. With those last words, Both Sora and Bullet sat themselves back on their seats, relaxing a bit as Bullet breathed a sigh of relief.
"Finally, we are out of that mess we caused." Bullet said as Sora remained quiet for a bit, his mind clearly thinking about something before he decided to respond. "I mean, it's mainly my mess. Things won't really stay quiet after this and we can only hope they don't get any crazier from here on out." Sora replied as Bullet nodded her head at that. "So… going to go and find that friend of yours as soon as we get to Kazomatsu?" Bullet questioned as Sora looked down and nodded his head.
"Yeah. I needed the equipment and clothes at least, but I am ready to get moving." Sora said as Bullet couldn't help but nod her head at that. "In that case, why don't you go and get some rest first. I still feel like I have some energy to burn so I can stay awake and make sure the NOL aren't following us from behind." Bullet said as Sora thought about what she said before shaking on his head. "Why don't you go and sleep first. I got some stuff I need to prepare before we set off." Sora said as Bullet wondered what he could mean by that.
"Sure. I'll do that then." Bullet said as she figured that she might as well oblige his request. Sora waited for a bit for Bullet to fall asleep as he feigned checking his gear, making sure that Bullet was not secretly spying on him to ensure he was not doing anything weird like possibly kill her to make sure there are no loose ends. It was at that moment he moved towards the front to speak with the driver. "Hey man. Can you drop me off here? I can manage on my own." Sora said.
"Ummmm… You sure? I mean a free ride to Kazomatsu is a free ride to Kazomatsu." The driver said as Sora thought about it for a bit before nodding his head. "I am sure. I need the fresh air anyways and I got my own plans from here. Just make sure she gets to her destination safely." Sora replied as the driver stopped the truck and allowed Sora to get out of the back, as Sora simply exited the truck with mostly his kit and a basic survival bag on him.
"Sorry for dragging you along my mess. You should probably get going on your own thing Bullet." Sora said, sure that Bullet was asleep at this point as the truck soon drove off, leaving him behind with no sign of civilization to be found. The direction of Kazomatsu loomed ahead but Sora was thinking about trying one of the other hierarchical cities instead. He needed to try and find his way into one of the cities to dig up information about how traveling between dimensions should work. But there was another reason why Sora chose to exit the truck at the point he did.
"You know… I was so waiting for you to arrive at Kazomatsu with an armed group of NOL soldiers as backup… but this works too." A voice spoke as Sora scratched his head. "How long were you following this truck? And let me guess, you just used your keep senses to deduce this was the truck." Sora replied as the voice couldn't help but chuckle a bit as the green hair revealed itself to Sora once again, the man simply bowing before him.
"Hazama at your service once again. But I must ask, what do you mean by keen senses?" Hazama questioned as Sora wondered if he should reveal what he knew but decided against doing so. "Nothing. But yeah, had a feeling that you were still following me to get me and those around me arrested for charges." Sora said as Hazama placed his hat on his head once again. "So you decided to reveal yourself to me instead. All nicely wrapped up for me to just send you to the nearest NOL jail." Hazama said as Sora simply remained quiet, his finger reaching towards his revolver.
"So how do you want to do this? Quietly? Or resisting and in chains." Hazama said, his hand reaching towards the balisong knives, eager to continue where they had left off. Sora himself kept quiet, not sure if he should answer back or just strike at that moment. He figured, letting someone like Hazama talk would be nothing but trouble, so he should just deal with him then and there and not let his big mouth talk for any longer than it has to.
Thus, it was Sora to react first, firing a shot right at Hazama that Hazama was quick to try and intercept with his Balisong knives. As expected, a massive bullet hitting what was essentially a tiny knife would logically result in said knife being destroyed as Hazama applied a last minute barrier Ars Magus to protect himself from having a massive hole on his chest. "Well now that was very rude of you to do that without answering the question." Hazama said as Sora ignored his words and proceeded to charge, the shot he fired having caused him to slide a few feet away from Hazama.
"What a rude man you are." Hazama replied, opening a small portal beside his head as Ouroboros came rushing out of it to meet Sora. Sora himself did not know if this version of Hazama was aware of who he was, he decided to take advantage of the knowledge he gained from fighting Hazama before as he slipped his head past Ouroboros, watching as Hazama grabbed hold of the chain to ride it towards him, his foot ready to smash right into Sora's face.
This prompted Sora to get on his knees and slide on the ground, bending his back to dodge the kick delivered towards him in the process as he swung the gun right towards Hazama, using it as a makeshift weapon to defend himself as Hazama used his Balisong knives to intercept and attempt a disarm by spinning his hand to cut Sora's only hand that could hold the gun at that point. Sora himself, not needing his drive to see the obvious countered by following the movement of Hazama's hand, making the blade miss cutting his hand and allowing him to fire another shot at Hazama, the blast knocking him back and allowing him to trip Hazama by his feet.
Before Hazama could feel the ground on his back, Hazama grabbed the chain of Ouroboros as it whizzed past between Sora's legs, allowing Hazama to attempt a restraining maneuver by wrapping around Sora's ankle to let the chain trip Sora up in the process as it moves along it's path. Sora raised his leg to avoid this as Ouroboros soon returned back to Hazama's side, ready to act once again on his command.
"Wow, nice moves." Hazama complimented as Sora was not fazed by his choice of words. Sora himself was thinking about his next set of moves as he had just wasted two of the 6 bullets he had left on the revolver and couldn't afford to reload anytime soon. He needed to go in close range and fight Hazama there but the last time he did so, he at least had the Rev Blade by his side that he could change into an arm. All he had was just the one arm and his gun but he had a solution.
Without hesitating, Sora holstered the gun on his person once again to begin fitting in the attachment that was given to him by Vlad for free. Hazama noticing what Sora was trying to do tried to close in the distance to not let Sora use his new piece of equipment, lunging with his knife right towards his throat. Sora in response, managed to get the attachment on, raising the gun again to block Hazama's attack, revealing the bayonet attached to the magnum.
'A bayonet huh? What kind of person would obviously use a tool that flawed?!' Hazama thought as he was not disturbed by Sora using such a weapon against him. A bayonet was essentially just an enlongated piece of metal whose main function was primarily for stabbing and Sora's own bayonet was no exception. Sora however did not hesitate to put it to use as he tilted the gun to let the knife slide across the barrel before lifting his arm upwards, parrying Hazama's attempt at a thrust with a thrust of his own.
It was at that moment Ouroboros came in, biting on Sora's hand and whisking him away from Hazama. Before it could chomp down on said hand, Sora quickly moved it out of the way as Sora could see blood coming from where it had bit. 'Dammit, I am still getting used to not fighting with my drive here.' Sora thought as while yes it is true he can fight without it just fine, over the years, he couldn't help but develop a bit of a reliance on said drive to help him avoid most attacks. Now that it was gone, he was going to need to bring his instincts back to fighting shape and fight without relying on said drive.
His drive was the last thing he needed to think about as the person in front of him was going to fight him, drive or no drive. He needed to focus on defending himself from possible harm as he prepared himself for Hazama's next attack, he could feel his sweat drip down his forehead as Hazama grinned a bit. "You know… for a guy with just one arm, you fight pretty well. No wonder you were hired for your services." Hazama said as he had hoped to get Sora bragging about how strong he was and make a mistake.
"Not interested." Sora said flatly as he fired another shot right at Hazama, making him dodge as he was about to let Ouroboros loose right at Sora but realized Sora was nowhere to be found at that moment. His ears were ringing slightly as Sora had shot his bullet to be just right next to Hazama's ear when he dodged, causing the ringing sensation he was feeling as he followed it up with a gunshot towards the ground to send himself flying in the air and immediately closing the distance in the process.
At that moment, Sora and Hazama's eyes locked on each other. It wasn't the look of star crossed lovers but the tension could be described as something similar. Hazama couldn't help but feel like he was supposed to be familiar with this individual as he got ready to unleash Ouroboros again while Sora tried his best to hide his urge to kill Hazama but was unable to do so completely as both men got ready to unleash their next series of attacks against each other, ready for the metal of their weapons of choice to meet with each other once again.
"Enough Hazama." A voice simply boomed as this made both Sora and Hazama look at the direction the voice came from, Sora crashing into Hazama as the two's attention were drawn away at that moment from each other to the new person who had just shown up. Sora was quick to get himself off the green haired man as he was not sure what was going to happen next and did not want to be near him when it did happen. What he did not expect to happen was to feel the ground below him suddenly become heavy as the moonlight illuminated and showed who this person was.
The first thing he noticed was the not the person that was approaching him but the person who was behind them. Their face was completely obscured by what seemed to be was a shadow as they wore a massive purple coat that wrapped around them completely that also had a purple mage hat to complete the look. If this was any other case, Sora would presume that the person wearing this outfit was cosplaying but it was obvious to him that this person was being imprisoned in some way and that the person in front of them was their master.
And this person simply had purple hair and wore what seemed to be ceremonial garbs that completely covered their body. The woman's outfit simply seemed to resemble that of a wedding dress that was styled in more of the fashion that Ikarugan women would have wore as their wedding dress. As the moonlight struck her face, Sora's eyes widened even more as he couldn't help but feel a shiver crawl up his back as if he could walk right now, he would be walking backwards but with the heaviness that he was feeling, the least he could muster was just a raising of his foot to step slightly backwards.
"N-Noel?" Sora said unconsciously as he was staring at the person in front of him, this person he thought was Noel as the Noel lookalike raised her eyebrow. "Oh? It appears you are familiar with the Eye of the Azure to an extent…" The woman remarked as her voice immediately told Sora that this woman was not Noel in any way. Despite that, the fact that she had a face similar to Noel's made him think that this woman was either this world's version of Noel Vermilion or a clone of her and he was starting to lean in on the latter.
"Imperator! What brings you here to the middle of nowhere? I thought you would be busy doing imperator things." Hazama said, getting down on his knees and bowing, holding his fedora to his chest. "What? Can't an imperator do things that are not related to office like pay a visit to her brother and his most meddlesome host? Surely I can be allowed to do such things… unless you are trying to say otherwise." The woman, now known as the Imperator said as Sora himself couldn't help but stare at the woman.
This was the Imperator? This woman of all people was the one responsible for making the world as it was? Giving the NOL as much power as it did to do whatever they wanted and causing all the chaos that the world was going through right now? He was lucky to have been living in Otsu for the past few years as he couldn't really picture the conditions that most Ikarugans had been forced to endure thanks to the senseless war she waged against them and the iron fist like rule the NOL has had for the past few years now.
"Of course not! It's just a surprise to see you out and about like this and not in your room waiting for the rest of us to come back from our duties." Hazama spoke as the Imperator simply scoffed. "Silence you snake. Your tongue is just as horrible as that stench you produce." The imperator said as her gaze soon went towards Sora, something chilling hitting the back of his spine as she stepped forward and stood in front of him, her own gravity unaffected.
"The fact that you are able to stand from this level of pressure tells me you are at least not your average Ikarugan off the street…" The Imperator spoke, her attention now drawn to Sora as he suddenly felt the gravity around him become heavier once again. "But the fact of the matter is that you are standing in front of your world leader. So show some respect you commoner." The imperator added, making Sora crumble a bit as he could feel his knees want to buckle from the pressure.
'This weight! This pressure! Is this gravity magic?!' Sora thought as he was soon able to piece together what was actually happening as the Imperator continued to watch Sora struggle against the increased gravity and not doing anything in the process. She was simply amused by the show in front of her that to interrupt it would be in bad taste. "Oh? You possess more willpower than I thought. Most people would have crumbled by now." The imperator said as Sora gritted his teeth a bit as he was able to raise his gun towards the Imperator, boldly showing that he would not be made to bend.
"That may be why you survived as long as you did… Continuum Error." The Imperator said, Sora's eyes widening as with her hand, she easily pushed and his his hand down, preventing him from raising his gun at her again. "Wait… Continuum Error? Then that means!?" Hazama said, his eyes opening up at the revelation of the man he was just fighting. "Yes, This man was supposed to be erased by the master unit in order to serve as a sacrificial lamb in order to save a life the Master Unit deemed necessary. A way to cheat one's fate by using another." The Imperator spoke as Sora did not dare to speak a word as the Imperator couldn't help but smile.
"You have it. The smell of death lingers around you even if you are unaware of it. It seems that you have cheated death for so long." The Imperator spoke as Sora felt her grab one his shoulders to try and force him down to a knee. Sora not wanting to let anybody push him over continued to resist much to the Imperator's surprise as Hazama got sick and tired of this resistance and swept Sora off his feet. "Hey you. Show some respect to your Imperator here!" Hazama said with the voice of someone who would show respect to their leader but had the face of someone who just wanted to kick someone down while they were helpless.
"For once, you were useful to an extent… Hazama." The Imperator said as she pressed her feet on Sora's stomach to make him cough and lose a bit of air. "You know, you should say something to your Imperator. I am giving your my time after all." The Imperator said as Sora coughed a bit more before his eyes landed right back at the Imperator's eyes again. "Well… You can start by giving me your name. Calling you the Imperator is not that good for an actual conversation." Sora said.
At first, the Imperator thought that Sora was joking with his statement. But the silence that came from that sentence and Sora waiting for her to answer was enough to make her laugh as she looked at him, even more intrigued by this person in front of him. "My name is simply Izanami. That is all you need to know." The Imperator, Izanami said as Sora couldn't help but feel like he had heard the name from somewhere before as he was just shocked that the Imperator of all people would give him her name like that, of course not for good reason.
"Izanami… isn't that the name of a god of death?" Sora said, speaking out the first thing he thought when hearing Izanami's name as she smiled a bit more. "Indeed it is. You sure seem like the well versed individual despite your ragged appearance." Izanami said as Hazama couldn't help but ask a question towards Izanami. "You know… it's great and all that you are having such a nice conversation with someone who's going to get erased out of existence… but care to explain to me why you are even bothering in the first place?" Hazama questioned as Izanami simply glared right back at him with equal ferocity, making both him and Sora feel her presence for a bit.
"It's because I rarely get to speak to individuals who are lined up at death's door like this. The despair they would feel gives me a sense of joy when I see them." Izanami said in such a dry manner that one would presume that she was joking. Hazama himself shrugged while Sora couldn't help but feel a chill with her tone as the gravity magic that was on him increased, making him feel like he was going to be glued to the ground at the rate Izanami was going.
"If I can ask… What do you mean… by that? Being at death's door?" Sora questioned as he couldn't help but wonder what she meant by her choice of words. "Why, I am just waiting for you to disappear. To see the feeling of despair grip your heart as your time is finally up… but now that I see you closer, there's more to you than it appears." Izanami said as Hazama couldn't help but raise his eyes hearing that, Izanami able to see the green haired snake's eyes wide open and interested by what she meant by that.
"But as much as I would love to indulge your question any further, Time is unfortunately running out for me and I need to do my own things now." Izanami said as the gravity magic was dispelled, allowing Sora to stand up and assume a battle stance once again as he couldn't help but not let his guard down at any moment. "It is fine to be cautious from time to time, but take it from me, you cannot hope to defeat me the way you are." Izanami said as Sora himself didn't put his finger on the trigger but already could feel a massive gap of strength that he did not think was even possible in the first place.
"Get the portal ready Phantom. We shall leave immediately." Izanami said as she took a simple glimpse of Hazama and he sighed. "Well, as much as I would love to keep playing with you, I have to go now." Hazama commented as Sora couldn't help but say something as Hazama and Izanami approached the portal that was created by the unusually dressed woman he presumed was Phantom. Before Izanami fully left, she couldn't help but decide to ask a question back at Sora.
"Tell me… Error… What's your name?" Izanami simply questioned as Sora didn't know what to say at that moment before realizing that if he was simply going to be forgotten at some point, there was no harm in giving his name, "Sora...Sora Minakaze." The moment his name left his lips, Hazama felt a sensation strike the back of his head as Izanami simply smirked hearing the name of the person who was willing enough to ask the name of the Imperator herself. "Sora Minakaze… heed my words, Your presence will not be welcomed in any world let alone where you originally came. As you can see, my colleague here used to roughly know you but doesn't in this world."
Sora kept quiet hearing that, not wanting to add anything unnecessary if he could avoid it. All he needed to do was simply nod his head so that Izanami could understand he knew what she told him. "At least you are aware of that singular fact. Then perhaps there is hope for you to give up on your fruitless quest to return home." Izanami said as Sora closed his eyes hearing that. He was about to let her go after letting her say her piece but something about what she said made him want to say something, not wanting to leave her unanswered in that part.
"I may not be able to get back home… But I will get back home. Regardless of what happens next. I don't care if the world forgets me. My only wish is to be with her. That's all." Sora said as his eyes looked firmly at Izanami's back as she did not turn to meet his gaze. "Did he say something you did not like princess? Because if you want I can stay back and…" Before Hazama could finish his sentence, Izanami's glare went towards him. "Don't pretend you want to fight him because of me and not because of that bloodlust of yours. You always couldn't stand types like him and my brother." Izanami answered as Sora himself was aware of the bloodlust that Hazama was exhibiting at that moment.
"Then I shall impart one piece of advice to you before I go, should we never meet again. Fight for what you believe in, but know that your quest will only end in tragedy. The fate of all Errors is to be erased and there's nothing you can do to change that fundamental truth. No matter how much you kick and struggle. Your will is strong, able to survive being erased once, but know that the cold embrace of death will always be there, the reaper ready to claim your life and make things the way they should be."
The words that Izanami said left an impact in Sora's heart despite him remaining silent, unable to hide the sweat that formed on his forehead from her cold words as she walked through the portal first. "You are lucky today punk. But don't think your ass is not going to be reported the moment I arrive back at HQ. Soon the whole world will be looking for your punk ass and when it does, you can guarantee that I will be there to make sure you are served up on a platter." Hazama taunted as Sora couldn't help but smirk a little bit, causing further irritation to Hazama.
"In that case, should the world come after me, you can guarantee that I will make sure that I will give you the same hell that a certain Squirrel gave you." Sora said, mentioning Makoto in his sentence, knowing that to be a throwaway line at best since he does not have any relation towards the Makoto Nanaya in this world. Hazama's face however told a different story as he raised an eyebrow to that. "A squirrel? As if a rodent could ever cause me so much trouble to make it hell for me." Hazama said.
Somehow… the words Hazama left him as Hazama stepped through the portal were more brutal than any attack Hazama could have tried at that moment as Sora couldn't help but blink a few times to process what was just said. Did, did something happen to this world's Makoto? Something much worse than he had originally presumed? Though he shouldn't care for another Makoto that is not his mainly for the fact he would feel like he was cheating on her with herself, the choice of words were still something to think about.
His train of thought was then broken by the sound of an engine moving through his direction. Sora wanted to move out of the way but felt a sudden bout of exhaustion hit him as he collapsed to the ground. He then turned his head towards the direction of the engine only to realize it was the truck that he had just tried to leave behind as a person he was least expecting to come by came out of the truck as Bullet stood in front of him, her eyes glaring right at him.
"So… Were you going to tell me that you were planning on ditching me before we got to Kazomatsu?" Bullet questioned as Sora looked down to the ground, unsure what to say as Bullet sighed and lowered herself to his level. "Well, whatever was chasing you seemed to be gone, looks like you are still coming with me buddy." Bullet continued as the driver brought back in the gear that Sora took with him as Sora sighed.
"Sorry for trying to ditch you the way I did. I just didn't want to keep you waiting to do your own thing." Sora said before he got a flick to the forehead as Bullet shook her head. "There's no need to apologize, I can understand why you did it and while I am not exactly happy that I got ditched the way I did, at the very least I can understand your intentions are not all evil." Bullet explained as Sora took a deep breath before finally standing up.
"Look, I understand you're in a hurry right now. But at the same time, there's no need to rush things. Come with me to Kazomatsu at the very least. It beats trying to walk all the way there or even to another Hierarchical city at the moment." Bullet explained, hoping to convince this weird person that a trip to a Hierarchical city to not only rest his mind but also reset it better than being directionless. Sora himself could not see any flaw with her logic and simply sighed at that.
"I guess you got a point there…" Sora said as he found himself getting punched on his face by Bullet as he slowly stood back up after taking said punch to the face. "That was just for me to vent off some steam… I just hate it when people abandon me like that. Regardless if their intentions were good or not." Bullet said as Sora for a moment felt a brief tense pause of emotion come from Bullet as he knew better than to pry on these things right now. When a person usually develops more trust on you is when you should probably try your luck. For now, at the very least, he was going to follow this woman until they reach the 7th Hierarchical city.
"Come on you two! We got to get moving right now before the NOL patrol starts trying to find us!" The driver shouted as the two simply nodded their heads on that. "Come on, I had to waste both mine and the driver's time to drive back and pick you up. Let's not burn any more time than we need to." Bullet said as Sora sighed a bit before smiling when Bullet's head turned away from him. He couldn't help but feel reminded of a certain Squirrel girl and her often headstrong approach to some situations.
"Yes Ma'am." Sora simply said as he followed Bullet towards the truck. As he did, he and those in the area actually failed to notice that another pair of eyes were watching them this whole time as she floated in the sky. Her eyes never stopped staring at Sora as he slowly entered the truck and went on his merry way towards the 7th Hierarchical city. This person pondered on what they should do for the time being but there was only one thing that was on their mind and they just had to say it out loud.
"Finally… I have found you again… Sora Minakaze, The Continuum Error."
GREETINGS LOST SHEEP OF FANFICTION!? HOW IS EVERYONE DOING!? You know, every time it gets to the point we reach at least over 4 months into a year, I cannot help but feel like I have become much older. Wiser? That is often questionable but regardless, I am grateful that I am still able to write stuff that the people who read my stories enjoy. That to me is enough to make me happy in the long term and also keeps my brain active even as we try to pick up our lives from the damage a pandemic causes to one's social life.
SO WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT TO SORA MINAKAZE!? WHAT IS GOING TO BE HIS NEXT GOAL AS SOON AS HE ARRIVES TO KAZOMATSU!? WHAT ABOUT HIS PARTNERSHIP WITH BULLET!? WILL THE WORLD JUST LET THESE TWO PART ON THE TERMS STATED OR WILL THE WORLD HAVE OTHER PLANS FOR OUR ERROR AND HIS MERCENARY FRIEND!? Well, the next chapter will reveal all these answers and more when we return.